CVS's Omnicare to pay $8 million to settle U.S. False Claims probe

CVS Health Corp's Omnicare unit has agreed to pay $8 million to resolve claims that its prescription verification system resulted in false claims being submitted to government healthcare programs.

The settlement, announced on Tuesday by Acting U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick in New Jersey, resolves claims by the federal government and 28 states arising out of a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act.

The deal resolved civil claims arising from what the U.S. government said was Omnicare's submission of false claims for payment for drugs under the Medicare Part D and Medicaid programs from 2008 to 2014. read more »

HSBC settles bondholders' claims of Libor manipulation

HSBC Holdings Plc has settled claims by a group of U.S. bondholders that it conspired with rivals to rig the Libor benchmark interest rate, according to a New York court filing on Monday by the bondholders' attorneys.

The filing did not disclose the terms of the settlement, which it said must be approved by U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan federal court. read more »

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act At 40: No Shortage Of Challenges

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.S.’s ambitious attempt to deter corruption in international business dealings, officially turns 40 this year. Like a lot things reaching middle age, FCPA is revered by many and reviled by more than a few.

Even as the FCPA enters its fifth decade, bribery scandals continue to beleaguer the industrialized and developing worlds, hamstringing growth and contributing to government instability. Every year, the World Bank estimates businesses and individuals pay an estimated $1.5 trillion in bribes – the rough equivalent of two percent of global GDP—and a staggering ten times the value of overseas development assistance. read more »

Corruption allegations trouble tiny Malta

A blogger alleges a $1m payoff from Azerbaijan

Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, has given his island steady economic growth (5% last year), record-low unemployment and its first budget surplus in 35 years. Small wonder that his Labour Party is favoured to win. However, Mr Muscat called the vote, scheduled for June 3rd, after a stream of corruption allegations stemming from the release last year of the so-called Panama Papers: more than 11m files belonging to one of the world’s biggest offshore law firms, Mossack Fonseca.

None of the claims—many of them made by Ms Caruana Galizia—directly involves Mr Muscat. But the most recent concerns his wife, Michelle Muscat, allegedly the beneficial owner of a company which was paid more than $1m by a firm belonging to Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of the president of Azerbaijan. Mr Muscat’s spokesman calls this “an outright lie”. Azerbaijan has important links to Malta, including a long-term agreement to supply gas, and the Aliyev family is said to have used Malta for financial transactions. Azerbaijan’s links to European institutions are already under scrutiny in Milan, where a prosecutor is investigating allegations that it paid a €2m ($2.2m) bribe to an Italian member of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, which is a separate body from the EU. read more »

SFO Seeks Files From SocGen Over Libya Bribery Allegations

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office sought documents from Societe Generale SA amid probes into a dispute between the French bank and the Libyan Investment Authority, days after the lender agreed to pay 963 million euros ($1.06 billion) to resolve a related civil-bribery lawsuit.

Lawyers for the LIA and the bank disagreed on why the prosecutor wants the paperwork, with an attorney for the Libyans saying the SFO was conducting a probe into Societe Generale. The bank’s attorney said the document request was made on behalf of U.S. investigators. read more »