Cognizant says some top managers involved in potentially improper payments

IT services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp said on Monday some senior managers may have participated in or failed to take action to prevent making about $5 million in "potentially improper payments" primarily related to real estate and procurement in India. read more »

Madoff victims to recoup $32.1 mln in Cohmad settlement

Victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme will receive another $32.1 million under a new settlement over the swindler's ties to Cohmad Securities Corp, whose clients invested more than $1 billion with him. read more »

China’s AgBank Fined $215 Million for Hiding Transactions

China’s third-largest lender tried to obscure the trail of dollar transactions by Russian, Chinese and Middle Eastern clients and attempted to silence a compliance officer who raised alarms about it, according to New York’s banking regulator.

State-controlled Agricultural Bank of China was ordered to pay a $215 million penalty and install an independent monitor for 18 months to oversee the establishment of compliance controls, New York State’s Department of Financial Services said in a consent order Friday.

New York and federal officials have aggressively pursued foreign banks over sanctions violations and poor anti-money laundering controls, led by $8.9 billion in federal and state fine against BNP Paribas SA, which pleaded guilty to violating sanctions and laundering laws. read more »

U.S. judge certifies class action against NovaStar banks

A federal judge on Friday said investors seeking to hold banks liable for helping underwrite more than $7.7 billion of mortgage-backed securities from the now-bankrupt subprime lender NovaStar Mortgage Inc may pursue their claims as a group.

Investors accused the banks of misleading them through their offering materials into believing that the underlying loans were underwritten as advertised, and that the securities they bought were safer than they proved to be. read more »

Former Business Professor Pays $100 Million Penalty in Tax Fraud Case

Dan Horsky, 71, a citizen of the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, pleaded guilty today to his role in a financial fraud conspiracy involving a foreign bank account containing more than $200 million.  As part of his plea agreement, Horsky paid a civil penalty of $100 million to the U.S. Treasury for failing to file and filing false Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. 

“You can’t hide from the IRS,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “Horsky went to great lengths to hide assets in secret accounts overseas in order to avoid paying his share of taxes to the IRS.  Today’s plea shows that we will continue to prosecute those who engage in this criminal activity. I want to thank IRS-Criminal Investigation and our prosecutors for their work on this important case.” read more »