The Man Who Brought Down Lance Armstrong

It would take more than two years of investigation, but in October 2012, usada concluded that the U.S. Postal Service team under Armstrong and its manager, Johan Bruyneel, had run “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” Armstrong’s longtime sponsor Nike was the first to abandon him, and the rest followed. In one day, he lost seven sponsors and an estimated $75 million. A few days later, the International Cycling Union (UCI), which oversees international competitive cycling, stripped him of his record seven Tour victories. Attempting damage control, Armstrong sat down with Oprah in 2013, in an interview that went terribly awry; he simply could not muster the appropriate level of contrition. (Among other missteps, he made a fat joke.) Since then, he has been forced to sell his Austin mansion and his Gulfstream jet to pay $15 million in legal fees, plus $21 million in settlements. read more »

Whistleblower protection mechanisms to become EU law

The European Commission has proposed protective measures to ensure whistleblowers can safely report unlawful activity. The bill would harmonize fragmented legislation across the bloc.

The EU's executive arm, the Commission, on Monday proposed measures that would set a standard for the protection of whistleblowers across the 28-member European Union.

The measures will require companies to set up clear reporting channels, feedback obligations and mechanisms to prevent retaliation. read more »

McKesson's Board Clears Itself of Fault on Opioid Oversight

A year after McKesson Corp. announced a $150 million settlement with the U.S. government over allegations it failed to properly oversee shipments of painkillers, a board committee cleared directors and senior executives of wrongdoing.

The drug distributor’s executives “placed great emphasis on compliance, encouraged ethical conduct” and improved the company’s opioid-monitoring processes, a panel of three independent directors said in an April 20 report.

The firm, with annual revenue of about $200 billion, eliminated oxycodone and hydrocodone sales from its incentive program for sales representatives in 2012, after the Drug Enforcement Administration raised concerns about certain shipments, according to the report. read more »

Barclays boss Jes Staley faces £1m hit after hunt for whistleblower

The recent whistleblowing case at Barclays is likely to cost the bank’s boss Jes Staley up to £1m in fines and bonuses after he broke the rules by trying to unmask the person who made the claims.

Regulators are understood to be planning to fine Mr Staley up to 10pc of his after-tax salary for 2016 – the year in which the breach occurred – or last year.

In both years he earned an after-tax salary of around £1.25m, translating to a potential fine of up to £125,000. If the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) extends that to his total pay packet, including bonuses and pension payments, the fine could be as much as £225,000.

On top of that, The Daily Telegraph understands the bank’s board is considering clawing back up to half of his bonus for 2016.

His bonus was £1.32m that year so he stands to lose around £666,000, taking the hit from the FCA and Barclays to as much as £891,000. Both the FCA and Barclays declined to comment.

The City watchdog said Mr Staley, a former JP Morgan banker, failed to act with due skill, care and diligence when he instructed his security team to locate the source of personal allegations made about a colleague in 2016. Mr Staley apologised last year for his “mistake” in twice trying to identify the whistleblower. read more »

Wells Fargo CEO's pay details spark pushback by some employees

Wells Fargo & Co’s disclosure of how its chief executive’s pay compares to the rest of its workforce has drawn criticism from some company employees ahead of the scandal-plagued bank’s annual shareholder meeting.

More than a dozen employees made posts criticizing pay details the bank released in March, according to comments on an internal communications website seen by Reuters. Separately, a worker advocacy group said it plans to raise pay issues on Tuesday at the shareholder meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan earned $17.6 million for 2017, according to its proxy filing, an estimated 291 times the median of the annual total compensation of all the bank’s workers. read more »