Google Fined Record $2.7 Billion in E.U. Antitrust Ruling

Google suffered a major blow on Tuesday after European antitrust officials fined the search giant a record $2.7 billion for unfairly favoring some of its own services over those of rivals.

The penalty, of 2.4 billion euros, highlights the aggressive stance that European officials have taken in regulating many of the world’s largest technology companies, going significantly further than their American counterparts. read more »

Can Good Corporate Citizenship Be Measured?

If you spend time around corporate boardrooms these days, you’ll hear the abbreviation “E.S.G.” thrown around with such frequency it is almost a trope.

E.S.G. stands for “environmental, social and governance.” Basically, it refers to the three main ways to measure a company’s commitments to ecological sustainability, to its community and to corporate governance.

Big investors, like pension funds and others, have publicly declared that they now consider environmental, social and governance issues to be key metrics of their investment decisions. To pass muster, companies seeking their favor must show a proven track record of responsible stewardship in all three categories. read more »

How helping whistle-blowers could cut health-care costs

Whistle-blowers have already helped the US government recover nearly $20 billion from health-care companies engaged in fraud. Some say encouraging even more whistle-blowing can help build a culture of integrity in the health-care industry. read more »

Brazil’s crisis deepens as president accused of corruption

Brazil’s attorney general formally accused President Michel Temer of corruption on Monday, making him the first sitting president in Latin America’s largest nation to face criminal charges.

Attorney General Rodrigo Janot’s accusation is the latest salvo in an intensifying showdown between Temer and justice officials who are building a corruption case that reaches to the highest levels.

Estates of Bernard Madoff’s dead sons reach $23 million deal with feds

The estates of Bernard Madoff’s dead sons have reached an agreement with the US government to hand over a combined $23 million to victims of his Ponzi scheme, resolving an eight-year legal battle over the remnants of fortunes they amassed at their father’s bogus securities firm.

Mark Madoff committed suicide in 2010, and his younger brother, Andrew, died of cancer four years later.

Their estates were sued by the company’s court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, who accused the men of profiting from their father’s fraud for years and squandering more than $150 million of client money on their lavish lifestyles. read more »

Cardiac monitoring firms reach $13.5 million false claims accord

Polish biotechnology company Medicalgorithmics SA and a group of Texas-based diagnostic testing companies have agreed to pay almost $13.5 million to resolve claims they billed Medicare for more expensive cardiac monitoring services than doctors had requested, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. read more »