UK Whistleblowers need independent office to protect them, say MPs

Existing laws leaving staff who speak up exposed to abuse by their employers, says report

The paper, published by the all-party parliamentary group on whistleblowing, detailed the serious personal and professional costs associated with calling out wrongdoing.

Whistleblowing cases such as those that exposed money laundering at Danske Bank, the use of offshore tax havens as revealed by the Panama Papers and the harvesting of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica prove “whistleblowers are the first line of defence against corruption, crime and cover-ups”, the report explained. read more »

Johnson & Johnson ran 'cunning' scheme to market opioids, attorney says

Oklahoma state attorney general is suing company for $17bn, to fund treatment and offset other costs of the opioid epidemic

The pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson ran a “cunning, cynical and deceitful scheme” to mass-market opioid painkillers that created the biggest drug epidemic in US history, Oklahoma’s attorney general alleged in closing arguments on Monday in the first major industry trial over the crisis. read more »

Ex-U.S. Navy Contract Official Sentenced to More than 5 Years in Prison for Bribery Scheme Where He Netted $1.2 Million in Kickbacks

A former civilian employee of the United States Navy who was a senior procurement official for Naval Base Ventura County and who received $1.2 million in illegal kickbacks was sentenced today to 70 months in federal prison.

Fernando Barroso Sr., 69, of Oxnard, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter. In March, Barroso pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of subscribing to a false federal income tax return. Barroso admitted in his plea agreement that he defrauded the United States, submitted false claims for payment and accepted bribes. read more »