Malaysia Files Criminal Charges Against Goldman Sachs Over 1MDB Scandal

Malaysia filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs on Monday, accusing the giant Wall Street bank of making false and misleading statements.

The charges are a rare international rebuke of an institution that has long represented the pinnacle of money and power. The 149-year-old investment bank already faces mounting pressure in the United States, where two former bankers face charges of bribery and money laundering related to its business in Malaysia.

The Malaysian authorities also charged several individuals in connection with the multibillion-dollar international fraud scandal that ensnared Goldman and that led to the ouster of Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak. The government said it would seek criminal fines in excess of $2.7 billion related to the charges. read more »

Johnson & Johnson Feared Baby Powder’s Possible Asbestos Link for Years

Johnson & Johnson says its product is safe. But asbestos, a carcinogen that can exist underground near talc, was a concern inside the company for decades. read more »

How McKinsey Has Helped Raise the Stature of Authoritarian Governments

Its clients have included Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy, Turkey under the autocratic leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and corruption-plagued governments in countries like South Africa.

In Ukraine, McKinsey and Paul Manafort — President Trump’s campaign chairman, later convicted of financial fraud — were paid by the same oligarch to help burnish the image of a disgraced presidential candidate, Viktor F. Yanukovych, recasting him as a reformer.

Once in office, Mr. Yanukovych rebuffed the West, sided with Russia and fled the country, accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars. The events set off years of chaos in Ukraine and an international standoff with the Kremlin.

Inside Russia itself, McKinsey has worked with Kremlin-linked companies that have been placed under sanctions by Western governments — companies that the firm helped build up over the years and, in some cases, continues to advise. read more »

The Fall of the House of Ghosn

Not everybody at Nissan was happy with their rock-star chairman, Carlos Ghosn. His high-living ways gave the company ammunition to take him down.

The discovery of Nissan’s role in financing Mr. Ghosn’s jet-setting lifestyle ignited a powder keg of frustration and discontent that had long been building—and may have pre-empted a plan by Mr. Ghosn to move against management at the company himself. read more »

To combat dirty money, Britain asks: How did you pay for that mansion?

Until quite recently, Zamira Hajiyeva was living the high life, according to British authorities. She had a $15 million townhouse in London’s tony Knightsbridge neighborhood, a golf club in the English countryside and a gold-plated shopping habit at Harrods.

That was before a British court this year asked the 55-year-old from Azerbaijan an impertinent question: How did she afford those purchases?

That query is at the heart of a bold British push to try to reverse what the government believes is a flood of foreign investment stemming from overseas corruption and criminality. read more »