Brazilian politician who orchestrated ousting of Rousseff sentenced to prison

Former lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha convicted over role in Car Wash corruption scandal and given 15 years in prison, which could be appealed

Eduardo Cunha, the former head of Brazil’s lower house of congress, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his role in the vast Car Wash corruption scandal.

Sergio Moro, a Curitiba lower court judge, found Cunha – a rightwing evangelical Christian – guilty of corruption, money laundering and currency law evasion in connection with a $1.6m bribe he received from a deal by the state-run oil firm Petrobras to buy exploration rights in Benin. The judgment also noted a pending case in Switzerland related to $2.3m stashed in a secret bank account in the European country. read more »

Thai ex-tourism boss Juthamas Siriwan gets 50 years’ jail over US$1.8 million bribe

Juthamas Siriwan, accepted the bribes from an American couple lobbying to secure rights to run the yearly Bangkok International Film Festival

The former head of Thailand’s tourism department was given a 50-year jail sentence on Wednesday for accepting US$1.8 million in kickbacks from an American couple lobbying for rights to host a Bangkok film festival.

Juthamas Siriwan, 69, accepted the bribes while she was tourism chief in the early 2000s, according to the verdict delivered at a new Bangkok court handling corruption cases.

Judges also sentenced her daughter, Jittisopha, to 44 years for helping hide the cash in overseas bank accounts, and ordered Thai authorities to seize the money.

“They colluded to avoid free competition in favour of Gerald Green and Patricia Green,” the court verdict said, referring to the Los Angeles-based couple behind the bribery.

The Greens served time in US jails for running the sophisticated graft scheme, which saw them funnel money to Juthamas over a period of five years to secure rights to run Bangkok’s yearly International Film Festival. read more »

Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrested

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was removed from office earlier this month, was arrested on Friday.

"Major crimes have been ascertained and there is a concern that the suspect might attempt to destroy evidence," Judge Kang Bu-young said in a text message to reporters.

"The court recognizes the need, necessity and reasonableness of the suspect's arrest."

Prosecutors announced Monday that they were seeking to arrest Park on charges relating to abuse of power, accepting bribes and leaking important information. read more »

Wells Fargo Executive Fired Whistleblower, Lawsuit Says

Not a good look for a bank still reeling from a fake accounts scandal.

Robert Trojan was the chief executive at a banking trade group when he found something concerning: The organization’s accounting firm had an undisclosed conflict of interest, according to a lawsuit he filed against his former employer and Wells Fargo last month in New York’s Southern District.

A day after he formally raised his concerns, he was fired. read more »

What Wells Fargo dodged by agreeing to pay $110 million to settle fake accounts case

When Wells Fargo recently agreed to pay $110 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the creation of millions of sham accounts, the bank’s chief executive, Tim Sloan, called it another step toward making “things right with customers.”

The settlement also achieved something just as important for the San Francisco bank: It kept out of court for now a high-stakes battle over whether companies should be able to require customers to resolve their disputes through private arbitration rather than by filing a lawsuit. read more »

Former Florida Pastor Sentenced in Investment Fraud Case

A Florida pastor found guilty of multiple felony charges, including organized scheme to defraud, has been sentenced to 7 and a half years in prison.

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) today announced that former Flagler Beach pastor, Wesley Alan Brown, was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison followed by 22.5 years of probation for his role in an investment scheme that defrauded members of his congregation. read more »