Egan – Financial Treason & Crime

Matt Egan, 16 April 2021

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s highly-successful whistleblower program is stepping down at a delicate moment for the market watchdog.

Jane Norberg is leaving the SEC on Friday, after presiding over a four-and-half-year period during which the whistleblower office handed out a staggering $702 million in awards to 114 individuals who aided the agency’s investigations.

Her departure comes as former Obama-era official Gary Gensler takes over the SEC and as regulators come under fire from progressives — and even some famous investors — for failing to do enough to protect investors. Continue reading “Article: This $800 million whistleblower program is losing its top cop”

03/25/202103/27/2021

Article: NFT Market Is Like Gambling in a Casino: L’Atelier BNP Paribas CEO

Article - Media, Publications

NFT Market Is Like Gambling in a Casino: L’Atelier BNP Paribas CEO

Scott Chipolina, 25 March 2021

The NFT boom has seen a lucky few make fortunes overnight—but, according to the CEO of L’Atelier BNP Paribas, buying them is akin to gambling in a casino.

“I think it’s probably akin at this stage to going into the casino,” said John Egan, CEO of L’Atelier, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg. “You know you’re going to spend money, but maybe you’re doing it for the enjoyment, for the experience. If you win, you’ve got lucky.”

BNP subsidiary L’Atelier, which focuses on identifying trends in emerging markets, released a report in 2020 which highlighted non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a key area of the emerging virtual economy. Their predictions appear to have been borne out, with the market for NFTs exploding in the second half of 2020 and early 2021. Continue reading “Article: NFT Market Is Like Gambling in a Casino: L’Atelier BNP Paribas CEO”

03/02/202104/15/2021

Article: Aussie Bank Westpac Inks $25M Deal In Rate-Rigging Suit

Article - Media, Publications

Aussie Bank Westpac Inks $25M Deal In Rate-Rigging Suit

Caleb Drickey, 02 March 2021

Australian bank Westpac has agreed to a $25 million deal settling claims that it conspired with a cabal of banking institutions to rig the price of derivatives based on an Australian foreign exchange benchmark.

Tuesday’s proposed deal would also compel Westpac, which denied all illegal conduct or wrongdoing, to turn over information related to the alleged price-fixing conspiracy. This would, according to the investors, strengthen cases against Westpac’s co-defendants and lead to similarly-structured deals with the accused conspirators.

In a memorandum, representatives for the proposed class expressed confidence that the newly announced deal would lead to further victories against defendant banks. Continue reading “Article: Aussie Bank Westpac Inks $25M Deal In Rate-Rigging Suit”

02/02/202102/09/2021

GameStop Founder Is “A Spectator” In Short Stock Controversy

Article - Media

Matt Egan | 21.02.02

In a conversation with CNBC, co-founder of Babbage’s Gary Kusin revealed that he has mainly been an onlooker during the whole GameStop stock controversy. He has gotten the majority of his information about what is happening through his son, Ben, who is an experienced redditor. One of the subreddits Ben frequented was WallStreetBets, which allowed him and his father to watch the whole situation unfold from the very beginning. Continue reading “GameStop Founder Is “A Spectator” In Short Stock Controversy”