Deutsche Bank faces action over $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme

Germany’s troubled Deutsche Bank faces fines, legal action and the possible prosecution of “senior management” because of its role in a $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme, a confidential internal report seen by the Guardian says.

The bank admits there is a high risk that regulators in the US and UK will take “significant disciplinary action” against it. Deutsche concedes that the scandal has hurt its “global brand” – and is likely to cause “client attrition”, loss of investor confidence and a decline in its market value. read more »

The Supreme Court Hands the S.E.C. a Rare Win

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s record in the Supreme Court has not been strong the past few years.

The court limited the period during which the agency can pursue a fraud claim and required a case seeking disgorgement be filed within five years of the violation.

But the justices handed the S.E.C. a significant victory last month in Lorenzo v. S.E.C., affirming the agency’s authority to pursue fraud cases. read more »

Spoofing Mistrial Shows the Limit of Dodd-Frank on Fake Trade Orders

A decade after the U.S. government outlawed bogus trading orders known as spoofing, prosecutors are finding there are limits to how aggressively they can crack down on some forms of market manipulation.

Spoofing occurs when a trader enters orders to buy or sell with no intention of completing the transactions. The intent is to influence prices by creating order flow that is a false market indicator, and then profiting by taking the opposite position. read more »

Ex-President Alan García of Peru Is Dead After Shooting Himself During Arrest

The charges relate to Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction giant, which last year admitted to $800 million in payoffs in exchange for lucrative contracts for projects including roads, dams and bridges. That revelation set off a flurry of investigations by prosecutors and lawmakers, principally in Latin America, as they sought to learn who was on the receiving end of the payments. read more »