'The men who plundered Europe': City of London practices on trial in Bonn

Billions of euros in EU taxpayers’ money was siphoned in ‘cum-ex’ scandal

They have been called “the men who plundered Europe”: a group of cowboy traders, seasoned tax lawyers and mathematical whizz kids who are alleged to have conspired in the heart of the City of London to siphon at least €60bn in taxpayers’ money from the state coffers of several EU countries.

In Britain, the so-called “cum-ex” scandal, named after the complex derivatives juggling act employed, gained little attention amid the frenzied debate around the UK’s departure from the European Union when the fraud scheme was discovered in 2017.

But in continental Europe what Le Monde has described as the “robbery of the century” has done almost as much to shape the view of Britain as Brexit itself, with Dutch media calling it “organised crime in pinstripe suits” and one of the original German whistleblowers saying he now welcomes Britain’s exit from the EU in the hope it could weaken the influence of London investment banking on European financial institutions. read more »

'Medication or housing': why soaring insulin prices are killing Americans

Price gouging and other barriers to accessing insulin are symptomatic of a broken healthcare system, and demonstrate the need of systemic reforms, diabetes advocates argue

Between 2012 to 2016, the average cost of insulin in the United States nearly doubled to $5,705 per year for individuals with type 1 diabetes. Production costs for a vial of insulin are estimated to cost around $5 while pharmaceutical companies charge as high as $540 per vial and Americans are dying as a result of being unable to afford it in addition to the expensive costs of medical care, and supplies such as syringes and glucose monitors.

Some 1.25 million Americans are currently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, an illness where people fail to produce insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. That number is estimated to grow to 5 million by 2050. read more »

Walmart to exit e-cigarette category as pressure mounts on vaping

Walmart is exiting the e-cigarette category completely as a rash of mysterious deaths linked to vaping draws intense scrutiny.

In an internal memo obtained by Yahoo Finance on Friday, the retail giant said that “Given the growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding e-cigarettes, we plan to discontinue the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products at all Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S. locations.”

Hundreds of unexplained illnesses linked to flavored vaping products have put the industry under fire, prompting some states and localities to tighten restrictions on the market.

In the wake of an eighth death, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it was conducting a criminal investigation of the matter. On Capitol Hill, a group of senators have asked the Trump administration to yank most e-cigarettes off the shelves entirely — including Juul, the most popular product on the market. read more »

House Passes Bill to Establish Whistleblower Program at Audit Regulator

Proposal calls for structure similar to that of the SEC’s whistleblower program

A new Congressional bill proposes to offer cash bounties to people who voluntarily provide original information on potential audit-related violations to the U.S. regulator of audit firms.

The bill, called “PCAOB Whistleblower Protection Act of 2019,” proposes to establish a whistleblower program at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board that will be similar to the whistleblower program at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bill was passed Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives, and will be considered by the Senate next.

The SEC whistleblower program had a record-breaking year in 2018. The agency has awarded roughly $387 million to 66 individuals since its creation in 2011, according to the SEC. read more »

Brazil dam disaster firms to face criminal charges

Brazilian federal police have proposed criminal charges against mining giant Vale and German safety firm Tüv Süd and 13 of their employees over January's deadly dam collapse, reports say.

Police reportedly say both firms used falsified documents that said the Feijão dam was stable.

At least 248 people were killed as a sea of mud engulfed a staff canteen, offices and nearby farms.

The collapse was Brazil's worst industrial accident.

Twenty-two people are still missing. read more »

SEC Charges Nissan, Former CEO, and Former Director with Fraudulently Concealing from Investors More than $140 Million of Compensation and Retirement Benefits

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed settled fraud charges against Nissan, its former CEO Carlos Ghosn, and its former director Greg Kelly related to false financial disclosures that omitted more than $140 million to be paid to Ghosn in retirement.

According to the SEC's orders and complaint, beginning in 2004 Nissan's board delegated to Ghosn the authority to set individual director and executive compensation levels, including his own. From 2009 until his arrest in Tokyo in November 2018, Ghosn, with substantial assistance from Kelly and subordinates at Nissan, engaged in a scheme to conceal more than $90 million of compensation from public disclosure, while also taking steps to increase Ghosn's retirement allowance by more than $50 million. read more »