Meet the Sacklers: the family feuding over blame for the opioid crisis

Philanthropic heirs to OxyContin fortune have a ‘moral duty to help make this right’ says the widow of one of Purdue Pharma’s founders

The Sackler Drug Rehab Facility, unlike the prestigious Sackler art galleries of New York and London does not exist. Yet.

If lawyers have their way, however, or public opinion pricks a few consciences, it may soon.

The Sackler family, a sprawling and now feuding transatlantic dynasty, is famous in cultural and academic circles for decades of generous philanthropy towards some of the world’s leading institutions, from Yale University to the Guggenheim Museum in the US and the Serpentine Gallery to the Royal Academy in Britain.

But what’s less well known, though increasingly being exposed, is that much of their wealth comes from one product – OxyContin, the blockbuster prescription painkiller first launched in 1996.

The pill is stronger than morphine and sparked the opioid crisis that’s now killing more than 100 people a day in America and has spawned millions of addicts. It’s also attracted a wave of lawsuits alleging ongoing deception about the safety of OxyContin, which the company had previously admitted misbranding in a 2007 criminal case.

Lawyers hope that might be about to change, however, as litigation engulfs the company, and the effects may end up rippling all the way to the society circles and venerable arts and science institutions where the billionaires spend the proceeds. What some call philanthropy, others, such as Stanford University ethics professor Rob Reich, call “reputation laundering”. read more »

Senate report says patient advocacy groups get kickbacks from opioid manufacturers

A new report alleges that five of the United States' largest opioid manufacturers paid patient advocacy groups nearly $9 million between 2012 and 2017 to help push an agenda that promoted opioid use.

The report is the second to be published as part of a wide-ranging investigation by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee into the marketing and sales practices of opioid manufacturers. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, has been spearheading the effort, which started in March. A report released in September found that manufacturers falsified medical records, misled insurance companies and provided kickbacks to doctors.

McCaskill's office investigated the marketing and sales practices of the pharmaceutical companies Purdue Pharma LP, Janssen, Mylan, Depomed and Insys based on their roles in manufacturing some of the opioid painkillers with the highest sales in 2015. read more »

Climate Lawyers Hope 'Public Nuisance' Strategy Reverses Years Of Failure

First they tried suing the utility companies. Then they tried suing the automakers. They even tried suing oil companies on behalf of an Alaskan village in danger of being inundated by oil-fueled rising sea levels.

Each approach ended when courts said the judiciary branch wasn’t the right place to address human-induced global warming, a problem so big it requires a coordinated international response that only legislators can implement.

Now private plaintiff lawyers and their allies in government are trying a new strategy: suing under state-law theories of public nuisance. San Francisco and several other California cities and counties have sued five major oil companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, claiming they knowingly sell products that, when burned, emit greenhouse gases. read more »

Five Former Venezuelan Government Officials Charged in Money Laundering Scheme Involving Foreign Bribery

Charges were unsealed today against five former Venezuelan government officials for their alleged participation in an international money laundering scheme involving bribes made to corruptly secure energy contracts from Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).  Two of the five defendants are also charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). read more »

Why is Australia investigating its banks?

Finance is Australia's biggest industry, and its banks are some of the most profitable in the world.

But now the nation's highest form of public inquiry is examining misconduct by the nation's banks and financial institutions.

The royal commission follows a decade of scandals that have rocked the sector.

What have been the scandals?

All four major banks have faced misconduct allegations. They include:

• Risky financial advice: Commonwealth Bank customers lost millions of dollars due to inappropriate advice from financial planners.
• Dodgy mortgages: About 20 NAB bankers were sacked after issuing home loans based on incorrect or incomplete documentation.
• Rate-rigging lawsuits: All four banks were accused of manipulating a key interest rate benchmark.
• Alleged breaches of anti money laundering laws: Commonwealth Bank admitted it was late to disclose 53,000 suspect ATM transactions.
• Analysts estimate that Australian banks have paid more than A$1bn (£550m; $780m) in penalties and compensation since the 2008 financial crisis.

Despite this, the banking giants have continued to post large profits, sometimes at record levels. read more »

US whistleblowing rules snare Harrogate cashmere retailer

A cashmere retailer from Harrogate has been caught by US whistleblowing rules and agreed to pay more than $900,000 in a case that shows how far American justice can reach.

An employee of Pure Collection reported to a US law firm that the company from the genteel Yorkshire spa town was evading customs duties by splitting parcels into lower-value consignments. read more »

'Whistleblower' alleges manipulation of Cboe volatility index

Wall Street’s most widely followed gauge of future stock market volatility is being manipulated, causing billions of dollars in losses a year to unwary investors, a law firm representing an “anonymous whistleblower” alleged in a letter to U.S. financial regulators and released on Monday. read more »