Georgetown University academic Chris Brummer in lead for CFTC chair

REUTERS

Georgetown University academic Chris Brummer has emerged as the leading candidate to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. The White House is expected to make an announcement on that and other financial regulator roles soon, one of the people said. read more »

SEC Updates List of Firms Using Inaccurate Information to Solicit Investors

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it updated its list of unregistered entities that use misleading information to solicit primarily non-U.S. investors, adding 28 soliciting entities, three impersonators of genuine firms, and six bogus regulators. The SEC's list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints, known as the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list, enables investors to better inform themselves and avoid being a victim of fraud. read more »

Former head of Vatican bank guilty of embezzlement, money laundering

REUTERS

A court on Thursday convicted Angelo Caloia, a former head of the Vatican bank, on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, making him the highest ranking Vatican official to be convicted of a financial crime.

Caloia, 81, was president of the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), between 1999 and 2009.

The Vatican court also convicted Gabriele Liuzzo, 97, and his son Lamberto Liuzzo, 55, both Italian lawyers who were consultants to the bank.

The three were charged with participating in a scheme in which they embezzled money while managing the sale of buildings in Italy owned by the bank and its real estate division between 2002-2007.

They allegedly siphoned off up to 57 million euros by declaring a book value of far less than the actual amount of the sale. read more »