Trump nominates Jay Clayton chairman of the SEC: statement

President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he intends to nominate Jay Clayton, a partner with law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Jay Clayton is a highly talented expert on many aspects of financial and regulatory law, and he will ensure our financial institutions can thrive and create jobs while playing by the rules at the same time," Trump in a statement. 

Corruption probe into Swiss drug firm in Greece speeded up

Justice Minister Dimitris Kontonis on Tuesday called for an investigation into alleged corruption by Novartis to be speeded up following the suicide attempt in Athens of an executive of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant.

The unnamed manager tried to jump off the balcony of the roof bar of the Hilton Hotel on New Year’s Day, but was thwarted by police called in by staff.

His suicide attempt injected fresh urgency into the Novartis probe, as he is reportedly one of the executives being questioned over allegations that Greek state officials were bribed to boost sales. The attempt also came in the wake of a raid in December by the Economic Police on the company’s Athens offices.

According to a judicial source quoted by Agence France-Presse, a preliminary investigation has been going on for two months and around 178 people in Greece have already been questioned.

Greece’s ANA-MPA news agency said that Greek authorities have also requested the assistance of the US Justice Department, which, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), first launched an investigation into the NYSE-listed drug maker two years ago. read more »

No One Questioned This Hedge Fund’s Madoff-Like Returns

In the years before Mark Nordlicht was arrested for what’s alleged to be one of the biggest investment frauds since Bernie Madoff’s, U.S. authorities had plenty of reasons to suspect something might have been fishy about his hedge fund, Platinum Partners.

As far back as 2007, Bank of Montreal accused Nordlicht of helping a rogue trader, costing it more than $500 million. Three years later, when the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating what it called a “scheme to profit from the imminent deaths of terminally ill patients,” the agency discovered that Platinum had funded the deals. And in 2011, a Florida lawyer who confessed to running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme testified that Nordlicht, his biggest funder, lied to help him lure new investors. read more »

Daughter of South Korean leader's friend arrested in Denmark amid graft probe

The daughter of one of the central figures in a South Korean influence-peddling scandal that led to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment will face extradition proceedings in Denmark after Danish police arrested her on an Interpol request from Seoul.

Chung Yoo-ra, a 20-year-old equestrian competitor, is the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park accused of colluding with the president to pressure businesses to contribute to non-profit foundations. read more »

Germany sets up banking whistleblower portal

Germany's banking supervisor BaFin has introduced a new anonymous online portal so that bank whistleblowers can report wrongdoing. But NGOs say it is the least that Germany could do - and offers no protection.

Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has created an online portal for bank workers who want to report money-laundering and corruption - but whistleblowing NGOs say the measure is no substitute for proper whistleblower protection. read more »

Sweden's Whistleblower Protection Law 'Won't Accomplish Much,' Expert Says

A new law claimed to offer greatly increased protection for whistleblowers, who expose serious wrongdoing, came into force in Sweden on New Year's Day - but an expert in the field suggests the changes are superficial, and will accomplish little.

The legislation is said to mean employees in both the public and private sector can publicize corruption or other serious criminal issues occurring in their workplaces without fear of reprisals such as withheld wages, lessened career opportunities or termination. read more »