SoftBank – Financial Treason & Crime

JAMES ALBERT, 22 July 2021

Even before the Coronavirus pandemic closed bank branches and emptied Wall Street’s once-boisterous trading floors, the digitization of all things finance was well underway. Stock markets trade almost entirely electronically and many of Wall Street’s most valuable companies now provide data, technology and software to the big banks, private equity firms and hedge funds that execute the day’s big trades. Covid only accelerated the push for firms to digitize their businesses and handle an increasingly distributed workforce.

Behavox, founded by former Goldman Sachs stock analyst and hedge fund portfolio manager Erkin Adylov, has become the go-to solution for banks, hedge funds and PE firms looking to maintain control over their data as their workers trade and communicate digitally. Founded seven years ago by Kyrgyzstan-born Adylov, Behavox’s natural language processing algorithms and data lakes track and store email and voice communications for large banks and hedge funds, helping to protect against issues like market manipulation, insider trading and the stealing of intellectual property. Continue reading “Article: The Future Of Wall Street: Fintech 50 2021”

07/05/202107/05/2021

Article: Coupang faces probe over alleged manipulation of search algorithms

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Coupang faces probe over alleged manipulation of search algorithms

julesmenten, 05 July 2021

According to industry figures with research knowledge, South Korea’s Coupang is being investigated for allegations that it has manipulated search algorithms to prioritize its products over its suppliers’ products.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-the-spot inspection last month at the headquarters of an e-commerce group in Seoul after being accused of abusing market dominance by increasing exposure to its own branded products rather than third parties. went. Continue reading “Article: Coupang faces probe over alleged manipulation of search algorithms”

06/12/202106/14/2021

Article: Toshiba: probe into government collusion a warning to foreign investors in Japan

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Toshiba: probe into government collusion a warning to foreign investors in Japan

ishwarkimmins, 12 June 2021

Toshiba’s top executives once wrote in an email asking government officials to “defeat” hedge funds. Demand reported in an independent survey of shareholder consignments shows why shareholder activists rarely succeed in Japan.

Is Report on page 147 Learn more about the long-running battle between Japanese technology groups and foreign shareholders, including the Harvard Foundation and Singapore-based Effissimo. Toshiba concludes that it has colluded with the government to thwart foreign investors. Toshiba says it will review the report. Continue reading “Article: Toshiba: probe into government collusion a warning to foreign investors in Japan”

05/14/2021

Article: British Fraud Unit Is Investigating Gupta and Greensill

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British Fraud Unit Is Investigating Gupta and Greensill

Stanley Reed, 14 May 2021

Britain’s financial crime unit is investigating suspected fraud and money laundering involving the businesses of Sanjeev Gupta, whose global metals empire ballooned in recent years with the aid of billions of dollars in financing from the failed firm Greensill Capital.

The Serious Fraud Office said Friday it was looking into potential fraud “in relation to the financing and conduct of the business of companies” within the Gupta Family Group Alliance, “including its financing arrangements with Greensill Capital UK.”

The announcement is the first indication that British authorities may pursue criminal charges against Mr. Gupta, the metals trader who runs the loose collection of businesses that bear the family name, and his ties to the finance firm founded by Lex Greensill.

That company, which expanded quickly over the past decade, collapsed spectacularly in March, entangling SoftBank and Credit Suisse and igniting a political scandal in Britain.

The Gupta companies and Greensill Capital were closely intertwined, and Mr. Gupta and Mr. Greensill were entrepreneurs who got rich as their businesses expanded. Greensill built up its so-called supply chain finance business by lending money against the sales of Mr. Gupta’s companies.

Greensill then packaged the loans into securities to be sold to investors by Credit Suisse and other firms. Greensill’s collapse was partly caused by regulators’ and insurance companies’ concerns that it was overreliant on loans to the Gupta group.

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04/05/202104/06/2021

Article: SoftBank pays $2.8B to acquire 40% stake in warehouse automation firm AutoStore

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SoftBank pays $2.8B to acquire 40% stake in warehouse automation firm AutoStore

DUNCAN RILEY, 05 April 2021

SoftBank Group Corp. said today it has invested $2.8 billion to acquire a 40% stake in Norwegian warehouse automation company AutoStore AS.

SoftBank, Japan’s largest telecommunications companies and one of the world’s largest venture capital firms, acquired shares in the company from funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. and EQT Private Equity, among other shareholders. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal values AutoStore at $7.7 billion. Continue reading “Article: SoftBank pays $2.8B to acquire 40% stake in warehouse automation firm AutoStore”

04/03/202104/03/2021

Article: Greensill and Gupta’s Intertwined Empires Had for Years Raised Concerns Internally

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Greensill and Gupta’s Intertwined Empires Had for Years Raised Concerns Internally

Alistair MacDonald and Duncan Mavin, 03 April 2021

The business empires of metals magnate Sanjeev Gupta and financier Lex Greensill leaned on each other to fuel their growth. But for years executives and advisers close to both entrepreneurs urged the two men to decouple their businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.

They failed to do so. Now Mr. Greensill’s firm, Greensill Capital, is insolvent, and Mr. Gupta’s conglomerate, GFG Alliance, is scrambling to survive. Continue reading “Article: Greensill and Gupta’s Intertwined Empires Had for Years Raised Concerns Internally”

03/25/2021

Article: SEC is investigating Japanese investment giant SoftBank for market manipulation

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SEC is investigating Japanese investment giant SoftBank for market manipulation

DUNCAN RILEY, 25 March 2021

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Japanese telecommunications company and investment giant SoftBank Group Corp. for alleged market manipulation.

Founded in 1981, SoftBank holds a significant share — 21.2% as of 2020 of Japan’s mobile phone subscription market — but is best known in the W est for its prolific investment portfolio. The list of companies SoftBank has invested in is too long to list but notable names include Uber Technologies Inc., Didi Chuxing Co. Ltd., Grab Holdings Inc., Nvidia Corp., TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. and DoorDash Inc.

Along with operating the world’s largest technology-focused venture capital fund, Softbank has a particular interest in ride-hailing companies. Except for Lyft Inc., SoftBank owns significant minority stakes in just about every other company in the market. When Grab purchased Uber’s Southeast Asian arm in 2018, it was a deal between two SoftBank-funded companies. Continue reading “Article: SEC is investigating Japanese investment giant SoftBank for market manipulation”

03/24/202103/25/2021

Article: SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank

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SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank

Michelle Celarier, 24 March 2021

SoftBank is the subject of an active investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to PlainSite, a legal transparency initiative.

The research provider on Wednesday shared the SEC’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Aaron Greenspan, the founder of PlainSite, a joint venture of Think Computer Corporation and Think Computer Foundation.

Greenspan said the SEC probe appears to be related to SoftBank’s trading unit, SB Northstar. He told Institutional Investor that news last year about SoftBank’s options trading triggered his initial FOIA request, which was dated December 2, 2020. Continue reading “Article: SEC Confirms Probe of SoftBank”