Martin Shkreli is still talking

He’s infamous for authorizing a price hike at Turing Pharmaceuticals. Did he also play a role in one of the biggest insider-trading cases in U.S. history? read more »

Four more banks named in bond price-fixing complaint

Investors who are suing a group of traders and banks, saying they colluded to fix bond prices, have named four more banks as defendants.

An amended copy of their lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday, shows BNP Paribas, HSBC, RBC and TD Bank have been added to the suit, which alleges that various banks and individuals manipulated the U.S. dollar-denominated sovereign, supranational and agency bond market.

They join Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Nomura as defendants read more »

Tech companies must do more to avoid using minerals tainted by rights abuses

Report claims smartphones and TVs often contain minerals from Colombia, Peru, Myanmar and elsewhere that may be associated with human rights abuses.

The minerals – key components in everyday items including phones, televisions and tablets – are also linked to government corruption, deforestation and the use of child labour, the data shows. read more »

AmTrust Plunges 19% on Report of Whistleblower

Unbeknownst to coworkers at AmTrust Financial an auditor was secretly taping conversations through a device disguised as a Starbucks gift card, according to a Wall Street Journal report. AmTrust Financial shares plummeted more than 19 percent, forging fresh 52-week lows in Tuesday’s session on the report.

The auditor, from accounting firm BDO USA LLP, was cooperating as a whistleblower for the Securities and Exchange Commission. The person captured casual conversations for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2014 as part of an ongoing investigation into AmTrust’s accounting practices after the insurer drew skepticism over the pace of its growth, which attracted short sellers. read more »

Barclays chief mounts charm offensive after reprimand

Jes Staley’s ability to transform bank dealt blow by whistleblower investigation

Hours after Barclays announced that its chief executive was under investigation for breaching whistleblowing rules, Jes Staley went to the bank’s sprawling canteen in its Canary Wharf headquarters to pick up some soup. It is a trip he makes a few times a month but this one had an extra purpose — “colleague communication”.

The American banker is facing regulatory sanctions and a large cut to his £1.3m bonus because he broke the rules by trying to unmask a whistleblower who had made allegations against an executive Mr Staley helped hire. read more »

Austin pair pleads guilty in oil and gas Ponzi scheme

Two Austin business partners pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. Western District Court to operating a Ponzi scheme that scammed oil and gas investors of as much as $20 million.

Robert Allen Helms, 52, and Janniece Kaelin, 55, each pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy, for misleading at least 80 investors in 13 states about their credentials in the oil and gas industry and keeping the invested money for themselves. Federal regulators allege the two conducted the scheme from January 2010 through December 2013 through their firm, Vendetta Royalty Partners.

Yahoo Is Sued Over $17 Million Fund for Chinese Dissidents

A group of Chinese political activists filed a lawsuit in federal court against Yahoo on Tuesday, saying the company failed to properly oversee a $17 million fund it created a decade ago to help Chinese writers, democracy advocates and human rights lawyers persecuted for standing up to the country’s government.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court in Washington, D.C., accuses Yahoo senior executives of turning a blind eye as the fund’s manager, Harry Wu, illegally spent millions of dollars on high-end real estate, inflated staff salaries and a museum documenting the history of forced labor camps in China.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Wu, a veteran Chinese dissident who died last April, spent less than 4 percent of the money on humanitarian aid. read more »