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Article: UK Subsidiary of Russian State Bank VTB Reported to Serious Fraud Office Over Vivacom Sale

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UK Subsidiary of Russian State Bank VTB Reported to Serious Fraud Office Over Vivacom Sale

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 09 February 2016

Empreno Ventures, the owner of the largest Bulgarian telecommunications company Vivacom has reported VTB Capital, the UK arm of the state owned Russian bank, to the Serious Fraud Office for the alleged illegal seizure and sale of the company to a connected party.

The criminal complaint was filed with the Serious Fraud Office last week by lawyers representing InterV and its owner Dmitry Kosarev, who is the principle shareholder in Vivacom.

In a separate legal action Mr Kosarev is suing VTB Capital in London for damages in excess of 143m euros for allegedly selling Vivacom for a price that significantly under represented the true value of the company. Continue reading “Article: UK Subsidiary of Russian State Bank VTB Reported to Serious Fraud Office Over Vivacom Sale”

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Article: Amidst Allegations of Financial Misconduct, Osiris CEO Resigns

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Amidst Allegations of Financial Misconduct, Osiris CEO Resigns

Mark Terry, 05 February 2016

Columbia, Md.-based Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. announced that Lode Debrabandere, president and chief executive officer, has resigned for personal reasons. Dwayne Montgomery, currently the company’s chief business officer, will act as interim chief executive officer. Frank Czworka, presently vice president and general manager of wound care, will step up as chief operating officer.

The board of directors will start a search for a permanent chief executive officer and has hired an executive search firm to assist in the process. The company indicates it will consider both internal and external candidates. The company has had some problems lately. The company is currently transitioning from research to a commercial company. A Seeking Alpha report published on Jan. 15 cited several red flags. One was that the company’s chief financial officer, Phil Jacoby, resigned in September, replaced by Gregory Law.
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Article: Overstock and Merrill Lynch settle for $20 million

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Overstock and Merrill Lynch settle for $20 million

Mark Dugdale

Securities Lending Times, 3 February 2016

Overstock.com has ended its long legal battle with a group of broker-dealers after securing a $20 million settlement from the remaining defendant.
Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation was the last defendant standing in the litigation over allegations of naked short selling, which were first brought in 2007. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $20 million to Overstock and co-plaintiffs on 28 January to settle the claims, without admitting any liability.

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Article: Case Sheds Light on Goldman’s Role as Lender in Short Sales

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Case Sheds Light on Goldman’s Role as Lender in Short Sales

Gretchen Morgenson

The New York Times, 29 January 2016

It would be easy to overlook the case against Goldman Sachs filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 14. It involved a complex piece of Wall Street plumbing, led to a minuscule $15 million fine and came on the same day that Goldman agreed to pay up to $5 billion to settle prosecutors’ claims that it sold faulty mortgage securities to investors.

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Article: Osiris Therapeutics counters report questioning sales

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Osiris Therapeutics counters report questioning sales

LORRAINE MIRABELLA, 23 January 2016

Its stock is off two-thirds from its summertime high, its auditor quit and it’s restating earnings. The past few months have not been friendly to Osiris Therapeutics, a Columbia-based company that’s considered one of the state’s most promising biotechnology firms.

Osiris, known for its stem cell-based products, is in the midst of transitioning from a research firm into a commercial enterprise and making strides with products such as Grafix, a human tissue product that treats chronic wounds such as foot ulcers. But after showing much promise, Osiris, which takes its name from the Egyptian god of death and regeneration, faces uncomfortable questions about its recent missteps. Several shareholders have sued and postings on financial advice websites voice continuing doubts about its sales and financial reports.
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Article: Asacub Android Trojan: From Information Stealing to Financial Fraud

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Asacub Android Trojan: From Information Stealing to Financial Fraud

Kaspersky Lab, 20 January 2016

With millions of people worldwide using their smartphones to pay for goods and services, 2015 saw cybercriminals exploit this by focusing their efforts on developing malicious financial programs for mobile devices. For the first time, a mobile banking Trojan entered the Top-10 most prevalent malicious programs targeting finances. The Asacub Trojan is yet another example of this worrying trend.

The first version of the Asacub Trojan, discovered in June 2015, was capable of stealing the contact lists, browser history, list of installed apps, sending SMS messages to given numbers and also blocking the screen of an infected device – all standard functions for a typical information stealing Trojan. Continue reading “Article: Asacub Android Trojan: From Information Stealing to Financial Fraud”

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Filing: SEC v Schwab

Filing

SEC v Schwab

19 January 2016

A Charles Schwab Corp subsidiary and a former customer told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday that an agency judge overreached when she found them liable for an alleged naked short-selling scheme and ordered them to pay $8.2 million in sanctions.

PDF (3 pages): SEC v Schwab

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Article: Goldman Sachs to pay $15 million to settle SEC stock lending case

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Goldman Sachs to pay $15 million to settle SEC stock lending case

Suzanne Barlyn, 15 January 2016

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs & Co GS.N will pay $15 million to settle civil charges that its securities lending practices violated federal regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

Goldman made improper representations to customers who requested that the firm locate certain stocks for short selling, the SEC said. Goldman told those customers that it had arranged to borrow, or believed it could borrow, the security to settle the short sale, a process known as “granting locates.”
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Filing: SEC v Goldman Sachs

Filing

SEC v Goldman Sachs

14 January 2016

These proceedings arise out of practices engaged in by Goldman’s Securities Lending Demand Team (the “Demand Team”), between November 2008 and mid-2013, in providing and documenting “locates” to enable its customers to execute short sales.

PDF (8 pages): SEC v Goldman Sachs

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Article: SEC settles with hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen

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SEC settles with hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen

Renae Merle, 09 January 2016

Billionaire Steven A. Cohen has been in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors for nearly a decade. His hedge fund, SAC Capital, was once one of the most powerful on Wall Street, managing more than $15 billion for investors and producing stellar returns for years.

But prosecutors suspected that SAC’s success was too good to be true.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan once called Cohen’s hedge fund as a “veritable magnet for market cheaters.” When, in 2013, SAC agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle charges that it tolerated rampant insider trading it was one of the highest-profile successes in the government’s aggressive push against insider trading. Continue reading “Article: SEC settles with hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen”

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Article: SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen ‘Failure to Supervise’ Case

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SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen ‘Failure to Supervise’ Case

Bruce Carton, 08 January 2016

The SEC announced today that it has settled its high-profile lawsuit against hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen, founder of SAC Capital. Under the Order resolving the case, Cohen will be prohibited from supervising funds that manage outside money until 2018. The SEC had charged Cohen with failing to supervise former portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, who was convicted of insider trading while employed at SAC. Continue reading “Article: SEC Settles for Two-Year Bar in Steve Cohen ‘Failure to Supervise’ Case”

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Article: Hedge fund billionaire Cohen settles with SEC after years of being investigated

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Hedge fund billionaire Cohen settles with SEC after years of being investigated

Anthony Noto, 08 January 2016

Authorities have spent almost a decade trying to corner Steven Cohen on insider trading charges. Today, the hedge-fund billionaire settled the long-standing case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The result: Cohen has been barred from managing client money until 2018. The settlement determined that the hedge fund manager failed to supervise an employee, Mathew Martoma, who was convicted of insider trading. The SEC ruled that Cohen’s family office must bring on an independent consultant to review their activity to make sure they remain compliant with securities laws. Continue reading “Article: Hedge fund billionaire Cohen settles with SEC after years of being investigated”

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Article: In Insider Trading Settlement, Steven Cohen Will Be Free to Manage Outside Money in 2 Years

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In Insider Trading Settlement, Steven Cohen Will Be Free to Manage Outside Money in 2 Years

Matthew Goldstein and Alexandra Stevenson, 08 January 2016

Steven A. Cohen, the billionaire investor, is walking away largely unscathed from nearly a decade of investigations by federal prosecutors and securities regulators into accusations of insider trading at his former hedge fund.

On Friday, Mr. Cohen reached a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission that will bar him from managing money for outside investors for the next two years. That is a far cry from the lifetime ban that securities regulators sought when they filed an administrative case against him more than two years ago. Continue reading “Article: In Insider Trading Settlement, Steven Cohen Will Be Free to Manage Outside Money in 2 Years”

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Article: Steven Cohen Settles Insider Trading Case with SEC

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Steven Cohen Settles Insider Trading Case with SEC

Steven Cohen, the billionaire investor known as the hedge-fund king, has reached an agreement with federal securities regulators that will bar him from managing the money of his clients until 2018.

For Cohen, the longtime focus of a federal insider-trading investigation, the agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission saves him from a lifetime ban from the industry, an outcome the agency had previously sought.

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Article: NovaGold Lower Slightly After StreetSweeper Report

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NovaGold Lower Slightly After StreetSweeper Report

Benzinga, 07 January 2016

Shares of NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE: NG) were trading lower by more than 1 percent on Thursday following a negative report by The Street Sweeper on Wednesday. The Street Sweeper’s Sonya Colberg argued that while “there may be gold” in NovaGold Resources’ properties, investors “better not count” on the company “digging it out.”

Colberg noted that NovaGold owns 50 percent of 2 separate properties in Alaska (Donlin Gold) and Canada (Galore Creek). Meanwhile, the company is awaiting government approval for over 100 permits in its Alaska property while its Canadian property hasn’t seen any gold recovery despite numerous attempts since 2003. “Expected expenses are massive,” the report stated. ” The prospects are iffy. The risks are enormous. And the excavation route goes straight through investors’ wallets.”
Continue reading “Article: NovaGold Lower Slightly After StreetSweeper Report”