Brazil's Braskem must face U.S. lawsuit over Petrobras scandal

Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem SA must face the main part of a shareholder lawsuit over its role in a massive bribery scandal that engulfed Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras SA, a U.S. judge has ruled.

In a decision made public on Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan said holders of Braskem's American depositary receipts may pursue claims that the company and former Chief Executive Carlos Fadigas defrauded them by concealing how bribery enabled the company to buy naphtha from Petrobras at below-market prices.

Naphtha is a key ingredient in petrochemicals, and the complaint said Braskem bought 70 percent of its naphtha from Petrobras. read more »

Dustin Hoffman And Son Suing Paul Manafort's Son-In-Law Over Possible Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

Looks like L.A. real estate is a headache for all — even the wealthiest Angelenos. Actor Dustin Hoffman and his son Jacob Hoffman are currently embroiled in legal proceedings over a $3 million investment made to develop a property along Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills' ritzy Bird Streets neighborhood. The developer of the property in question? None other than Paul Manafort's son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai.

According to The Real Deal, four of Yohai's LLCs that own properties in L.A. filed for bankruptcy in December." It remains unclear if the Chapter 11 filings are related to a suit brought against Yohai a month earlier over claims that his developments in Brooklyn are part of a Ponzi scheme. read more »

Credit Suisse under fire as clients hunted for tax evasion

Swiss bank Credit Suisse has been dragged into yet more tax evasion and money laundering investigations, after a tip-off to Dutch prosecutors about tens of thousands of suspect accounts triggered raids in five countries.

Coordinated raids began on Thursday in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, France and Australia, the Dutch office for financial crimes prosecution (FIOD) said on Friday, with two arrests confirmed so far.

The Dutch are "investigating dozens of people who are suspected of tax fraud and money laundering", the prosecutors said, adding that suspects had deposited money in a Swiss bank without disclosing that to authorities. read more »

Whistleblowers at centre of HBOS scandal call on Lloyds to come clean after allegations emerge suggesting scam was covered up for nine years

The couple who blew the whistle on a fraud linked to two former HBOS employees have called on Lloyds Banking Group to spill all, after allegations emerged suggesting the scam was covered up for almost a decade.

Earlier this year, Lynden Scourfield, once head of the HBOS department responsible for businesses in financial difficulty, and Mark Dobson were among six people handed prison sentences for their roles in a £1bn fraud which drove troubled firms into the ground for the wrongdoers' personal gain. read more »

CFTC Orders Former Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Traders Stephen Gola and Jonathan Brims to Pay $350,000 and $200,000, Respectively, and Bans Them from Trading for 6 Months for Spoofing in U.S. Treasury Futures Markets

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued two separate Orders filing and settling charges against Stephen Gola and Jonathan Brims for spoofing — bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution. read more »