How a scandal that started in Brazil is now roiling other Latin American countries

Some of the world’s most iconic companies cast themselves as emblems of their nation’s values — all-American Coca-Cola, for instance, or quintessentially Japanese Toyota. And for a while, that was also true of the Brazilian construction behemoth Odebrecht. In a good way.

Odebrecht was on a cloud during the first decade of the millennium, when Brazil won hosting rights to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, affirming its status as a rising star. With the charismatic President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva touting Odebrecht abroad, the company secured lucrative foreign contracts to build highways, transportation systems, stadiums and power plants.

But Odebrecht’s other export was Brazilian-scale corruption, undermining countries it was supposed to be building up. The company is today at the core of Brazil’s biggest-ever graft scandal, a $2 billion kickback scheme in which nearly 100 executives and politicians have been imprisoned. read more »

Former Deutsche Bank, HSBC traders in Singapore jailed for cheating employers

Two former foreign exchange (forex) traders who used the names of family members to set up trading accounts, which were then used to cheat their respective banks with bogus trades, were on Wednesday (Feb 22) sentenced to jail.

Former HSBC senior dealer Ivan Chng Kian Wee, 48, was jailed 15 weeks while former Deutsche Bank spot trader Toh Hway Khuan, 51, was jailed eight weeks.

Prosecutors had sought six months for Chng and three months for Toh while their lawyers had asked for a fine. read more »

Woman, 70, sent to prison in 'jaw-dropping' $7.5M Ponzi scheme

A 70-year-old woman was sentenced to prison in a $7.5 million Ponzi scheme that damaged investors' financial security, and in some cases, wiped out retirement savings.

The shock over Sarah Bolhuis' crimes has turned into "daily stress" for the victims, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher O'Connor said in a sentencing memorandum.

"Defendant's disarming approach and devious ways - including her assurance to certain victims that wealthy relatives would back up their investments - has wreaked financial and emotional havoc on many of her victims," he said.

"This jaw-dropping criminal behavior must be met with significant punishment from this Court." read more »

Brooklyn judge tosses out motions from FIFA officials hoping to dodge corruption charges

A Brooklyn Federal judge gave the boot to motions from a pair of international soccer officials seeking to escape charges in the FIFA corruption case.

Lawyers for Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay and Jose Maria Marin of Brazil asked Federal Court Judge Pamela K. Chen to toss out some counts in the racketeering case against the two men.

But Chen, in 22-page ruling issued Friday, gave a red card to the defense with her decision.

In the case of Marin, the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Chen rejected a motion to toss a charge added in a superseding indictment in the wide-ranging case. read more »

Prudential may hit Wells Fargo for account scandal costs-filing

Prudential Financial Inc, the target of probes and lawsuits related to whether Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) retail bankers improperly sold its insurance, may press the bank to cover costs it has run up because of the flap, according to a filing.

"The company has provided notice to Wells Fargo that it may seek indemnification under the MyTerm distribution agreement," Prudential said in a Feb. 17 regulatory filing.

It was unclear how much in costs Prudential may seek. read more »