Category: Article – Media

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Article: Goldman Sachs ‘close to $2bn settlement’ over 1MDB scandal

Article - Media, Publications

Goldman Sachs ‘close to $2bn settlement’ over 1MDB scandal

Kalyeena Makortoff, 19 December 2019

Goldman Sachs is close to reaching a settlement of nearly $2bn (£1.5bn) with the US Department of Justice over the 1MDB corruption scandal, according to a report.

The Wall Street bank is said to be formulating a deal under which its Asian subsidiary, rather than the parent company, would pay a multibillion-dollar fine and admit guilt for having allegedly turned a blind eye while $4.5bn was looted from its client, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.

The deal would also involve oversight from an independent monitor that would help reform the bank’s compliance rules, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The settlement package would end the US justice department’s investigation into Goldman Sachs’ role as an underwriter and arranger of bond sales for the wealth fund, totalling $6.5bn.

About $4.5bn was allegedly looted from 1MDB in a fraud said to have involved the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian financier Jho Low, and his associates. The funds were allegedly used to buy everything from yachts to artwork, and fund the production of Hollywood films including The Wolf of Wall Street.

Razak is facing criminal charges in Malaysia but has pleaded not guilty. Low is facing charges in both Malaysia and the US, and has also denied wrongdoing.

Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, said it was lied to about how the proceeds of the three bond sales it conducted on the fund’s behalf between 2012 and 2013 were used.

In November, the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, confirmed he had rejected a separate offer from Goldman Sachs worth less than $2bn. “We are not satisfied with that amount so we are still talking to them … If they respond reasonably, we might not insist on getting that $7.5bn,” he told the FT.

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Article: South Africa should restrict rand access for offending foreign banks

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South Africa should restrict rand access for offending foreign banks

David Whitehouse, 19 December 2019

A call from South Africa’s competition regulator to be given extra-territorial powers to prosecute foreign banks whose actions affect South Africans has drawn short shrift from investors.

After an investigation into alleged collusion by 23 banks, ten of which have no presence in South Africa, to co-ordinate on spot dollar and rand prices, the Competition Commission recommended fines totalling 10% of the banks’ global revenues.

The banks involved, which include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse, argue that the case should be dropped. The country’s Competition Tribunal in July ruled that the commission had no jurisdiction to impose the fines. Continue reading “Article: South Africa should restrict rand access for offending foreign banks”

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Article: This Top-Performing Pot Stock Was Accused of Fraud

Article - Media, Publications

This Top-Performing Pot Stock Was Accused of Fraud

Sean Williams, 19 December 2019

It’d be pretty fair to say that this is not how marijuana stock investors envisioned 2019 would go. After beginning the year on a (pardon the pun) high note, with more than a dozen pot stocks gaining in excess of 70% during the first quarter, the past 8.5 months have been nothing short of a train wreck.

To our north, Canada has struggled with the regulatory aspects of establishing a legal weed industry. Health Canada has been slow to approve cultivation, processing, and sales license applications, while Ontario, the most populous province, hasn’t approved retail store licenses in a timely manner. Meanwhile, high tax rates and a Swiss-cheese-like state-level approval process has constrained marijuana sales in legal U.S. states. In essence, the black market is thriving throughout North America.
Continue reading “Article: This Top-Performing Pot Stock Was Accused of Fraud”

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Article: Counterpoint: Short sellers like us create real value for public markets by telling Canadian investors the truth

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Counterpoint: Short sellers like us create real value for public markets by telling Canadian investors the truth

Ben Axler, 17 December 2019

In late January 2021, GameStop experienced a once-in-a-decade squeeze that has captivated the world’s attention. It was a premeditated and programmatic exercise, orchestrated by coordinated stock and option buying across the retail and professional community, resulting in large institutional entities losing billions of dollars. Investment houses with significant short positions did not expect a stock with GameStop’s fundamental profile to increase +2,500% in price over less than three weeks; therefore, they did not have the controls in place to handle the incredible levels of stock and call option purchases. The frenzy drew comments from the White House, provoked a social media crackdown, caused brokerage units to restrict trading, and has led to a Congressional hearing on GameStop on Thursday, February 18th.
Continue reading “Article: Counterpoint: Short sellers like us create real value for public markets by telling Canadian investors the truth”

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Article: Murder, misinformation and money-laundering: Weapons in the arsenal of the Russian state

Article - Media, Publications

Murder, misinformation and money-laundering: Weapons in the arsenal of the Russian state

Dominic Kavakeb, 16 December 2019

Just hours before the British public was set to go to the polls to elect a new Government, Global Witness was hosting an important and timely discussion on the global influence of Putin’s Russia in the UK.

From Russian troll factories to the spread of misinformation, accusations of Russian interference in global democratic processes have increasingly come to the fore. At the same time flows of Russian money, obscured by anonymous company ownership, have been at the centre of countless money laundering scandals. And from Alexander Litvinenko to Sergei Skripal assassination attempts on Russian nationals in the UK have regularly hit the headlines. Continue reading “Article: Murder, misinformation and money-laundering: Weapons in the arsenal of the Russian state”

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Article: Wirecard — Who’s Who of Bad Boys

Article - Media

Wirecard critics targeted in London spy operation

Miariam Jackson

The Union Journal, 11 December 2019

Two specialist traders, Matt Earl and Fraser Perring, co-authored the Zatarra report and therefore are one of the eight guys surveilled over recent weeks, combined with Mr [Crispin] Odey, Brett Palos, the stepson of merchant Philip Green, along with Nick Gold, a veteran stock exchange speculator.

Wirecard executives seem to have guessed a mole was working at a senior level within the firm after Mr Earl and Mr Perring released their Zatarra Report at 2016, prompting a criminal investigation from Germany into alleged market manipulation.

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Article: Tilray hit by $300 million lawsuit over scheme to bankrupt acquisition target

Article - Media, Publications

Tilray hit by $300 million lawsuit over scheme to bankrupt acquisition target

Mark P, 11 December 2019

Cannabis stocks have had a history of being rife with scandals and potential wrongdoings. While it’s unfortunate that the industry has garnered such a reputation, for the most part, this perception has died down a bit in 2019. However, from time to time, a well-known cannabis company will be implicated in something illegal or against the law. That’s what happened today with Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY), which was hit with a $300 million lawsuit from an acquisition target that claimed Tilray was trying to make them go bankrupt.

While it didn’t make headlines in the financial press, Bloomberg quietly mentioned that Tilray had been hit with a hefty lawsuit from a soap company called Trimax, which argued that the pot company had been trying to bankrupt one of its subsidiaries in order to make it easy to buy them out. Specifically, Trimax claims that Tilray wanted to buy its line of CBD products at a discount.gh cash that is inflated or compromised, and warranty and service costs are understated by at least $11 million.
Continue reading “Article: Tilray hit by $300 million lawsuit over scheme to bankrupt acquisition target”

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Article: Morgan Stanley Fined $22 Million for Rigging Bond Markets

Article - Media

Morgan Stanley Fined $22 Million for Rigging Bond Markets

Gaspard Sebag, Stephanie Bodoni

Bloomberg, 10 December 2019

Morgan Stanley was fined 20 million euros ($22.1 million) by French regulators after the bank’s London desk was accused of using “pump and dump” tactics to manipulate sovereign bond prices.

The Autorite des Marches Financier’s enforcement committee said that the bank manipulated the prices of 14 French government bonds and 8 Belgian bonds in June 2015. The lender also manipulated the price of a French government bond futures contract, the AMF said in a statement Tuesday.

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Article: One of Wall Street’s most notorious short-sellers says Peloton will plummet 86%, citing ‘intense’ competition (PTON)

Article - Media

One of Wall Street’s most notorious short-sellers says Peloton will plummet 86%, citing ‘intense’ competition (PTON)

Carmen Reinicke

MarketInsider, 10 December 2019

 

  • Citron Research, run by the famed short-seller Andrew Left, slapped Peloton with a $5 price target on Tuesday.
  • That would imply an 86% drop from Monday’s close of $34.77.
  • Citron argued that the losses would come amid “intense” competition that’s mounting.
  • Shares of Peloton fell as much as 9.1% on Tuesday.

Comment:  Yelling fire in a crowded theatre is a crime A short and distort SELL REPORT How about selling his sell tickets IS he still short? his target is $5 right I bet he covered 10 min after his report . Andrew Left should be under investigation. His recommendations should be compared to his positions.

 

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Article: Tilray Slapped With $150 Million Lawsuit Over Alleged Plot to Bankrupt Takeover Target

Article - Media, Publications

Tilray Slapped With $150 Million Lawsuit Over Alleged Plot to Bankrupt Takeover Target

RYAN T., 10 December 2019

Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) is facing some serious allegations after Law360 broke a story recently which details the $150 million lawsuit filed against the Canadian licensed producer (LP) in the state of Florida. According to the lawsuit, Tilray allegedly plotted to bankrupt the Trimax Corp. subsidiary Saavy Naturals for the purpose of acquiring it at a reduced valuation to complement its line of CBD infused personal care products. Saavy Naturals was made famous after it appeared on the ABC hit television show Shark Tank.

The complaint claims that Tilray ran an “outrageous” scam through its majority shareholder and private equity firm Privateer Holdings to convince the company’s owners to bankrupt their own company so Tilray could take them over cheaply. Trimax shareholder Joseph Vasquez III lays out the case in a complaint filed in Florida state court on December 2, 2019, which has since been removed to Florida federal court.
Continue reading “Article: Tilray Slapped With $150 Million Lawsuit Over Alleged Plot to Bankrupt Takeover Target”

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Article: Accounting Fraud & Freight Recession Topple Celadon, Largest Truckload-Carrier Bankruptcy in US History

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Accounting Fraud & Freight Recession Topple Celadon, Largest Truckload-Carrier Bankruptcy in US History

Wolf Richter, 09 December 2019

Celadon Group, one of the larger full-truckload operators in the US with about 3,000 drivers and about 2,700 tractors, said today – confirming days of rumors – that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is ceasing operations. This is the largest truckload carrier ever to file for bankruptcy in US history.

The drivers, hauling loads across the US, Canada, and Mexico were apparently among the last to be informed. According to Freight Waves, they received this message in the middle of the night on their telematics devices: Continue reading “Article: Accounting Fraud & Freight Recession Topple Celadon, Largest Truckload-Carrier Bankruptcy in US History”

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Article: Steve Cohen probably isn’t going to save the Mets

Article - Media, Publications

Steve Cohen probably isn’t going to save the Mets

Sheryl Ring, 07 December 2019

In November 2013, SAC Management Companies, a hedge fund operated by new Mets owner Steve Cohen, agreed to pay $1.8 billion – with a B – to resolve insider trading and money laundering charges. Continue reading “Article: Steve Cohen probably isn’t going to save the Mets”

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Article: From Russia, with Malware: US Charges Hacking Group Evil Corp. In $100M Bank Fraud

Article - Media, Publications

From Russia, with Malware: US Charges Hacking Group Evil Corp. In $100M Bank Fraud

PYMNTS, 05 December 2019

Call it Russian interference of a different sort that netted $100 million from banks and financial institutions (FIs) in more than 40 countries.

What would you expect from an outfit named Evil Corp.? Sometimes, it seems, there is truth in advertising.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued a multicount indictment Thursday (Dec. 5) against two Russian citizens, Igor Turashev and Maksim V. Yakubets. They are connected with a Russian hacking group known as Evil Corp., which has been known to release malware. The duo allegedly — and with the help of more than a dozen others — worked to deploy malware known as Dridex (aka Cridex and Bugat) and for committing wire and bank fraud. Continue reading “Article: From Russia, with Malware: US Charges Hacking Group Evil Corp. In $100M Bank Fraud”

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Article: Russian Nationals Charged With Series of Hacking and Bank Fraud Offenses

Article - Media, Publications

Russian Nationals Charged With Series of Hacking and Bank Fraud Offenses

Security Magazine, 05 December 2019

The US, through its Departments of Justice and State, and the UK, through its National Crime Agency (NCA), announced the unsealing of criminal charges in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Lincoln, Nebraska, against Maksim V. Yakubets, aka online moniker, “aqua,” 32, of Moscow, Russia, related to two separate international computer hacking and bank fraud schemes spanning from May 2009 to the present. A second individual, Igor Turashev, 38, from Yoshkar-Ola, Russia, was also indicted in Pittsburgh for his role related to the “Bugat” malware conspiracy. Continue reading “Article: Russian Nationals Charged With Series of Hacking and Bank Fraud Offenses”

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Article: Russian Hacking Group Evil Corp. Charged By Federal Prosecutors In Alleged Bank Fraud

Article - Media, Publications

Russian Hacking Group Evil Corp. Charged By Federal Prosecutors In Alleged Bank Fraud

BOBBY ALLYN, 05 December 2019

Federal law enforcement officials have announced criminal charges against two Russian nationals who operate a hacking organization known as Evil Corp., a group officials say is responsible for one of the most sweeping banking fraud schemes in the past decade.

The criminal indictments were unsealed in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Lincoln, Nebraska, against Maksim Yakubets, 32, and Igor Turashev, 38, both of whom live in Russia. The duo are accused of bank and wire fraud and computer hacking, among other counts. Continue reading “Article: Russian Hacking Group Evil Corp. Charged By Federal Prosecutors In Alleged Bank Fraud”

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