The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is bearing down on key players at hedge fund Premium Point Investments — now in bankruptcy — arresting them on charges of a scheme of mismarking hundreds of millions of dollars in structured credit products. The DoJ action sets the stage for a possible criminal trial as three of… Read More >>
SEC & Justice Department Bear Down on Centra Tech
In the present financial era value moves around the globe via esoteric financial instruments that may exist only on the Internet. Which means that today a robbery might be entirely virtual. Even though the value stolen is entirely real. That proposition underlies the SEC’s recent complaint against the two co-founders of a so-called “financial services… Read More >>
Four Arrested in Medicare Info Insider Trading Scheme
The SEC has reported civil charges — and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed criminal charges — in an alleged insider trading scheme involving “tips of nonpublic information about government plans to cut Medicare reimbursement rates, which affected the stock prices of certain publicly traded medical providers or suppliers.” The four alleged participants… Read More >>
Deutsche Bank’s Revamp Spurs 1,000 More Layoffs
Deutsche Bank will be cutting “another 1,000 jobs” after reaching an agreement with its group and general works councils “on role reductions in Germany,” and as part of its Strategy 2020, which calls for the elimination of 9,000 people from its work force. News of the additional layoffs has gotten little attention as major media… Read More >>
Och-Ziff Pays $412M in Fines to Settle Bribery Charges
Alternative investment and hedge fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management Group will be paying $412 million in fines and has begun revamping internal procedures as a result of the bribery and operational mismanagement charges brought against it. On Thursday, the firm announced that it has settled criminal and civil cases with the U.S. Department of Justice… Read More >>
Settlement Helps Steven A. Cohen Return in 2018
The ongoing saga of billionaire hedge fund manager, Steven A. Cohen, completed another episode with his settlement this week with the CFTC, which may help him create a path back to investing other peoples’ money by 2018 or beyond. The former hedge fund heavyweight Cohen settled with the SEC this past January after the regulator… Read More >>
HSBC Cooperating with FBI FX Probe
HSBC is cooperating with a widely publicized U.S. Department of Justice investigation of two of its top foreign exchange trading officials who are charged with using confidential information about their client for personal gain and at the expense of that client. “HSBC has been and continues to cooperate in the DOJ’s foreign exchange investigation,” a… Read More >>
Markit, ISDA Move to Settle EU Probe
Markit, the U.K. data provider, and the International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA), an industry trade group, have offered concessions in an effort to settle a European Union antitrust investigation into possible collusion in the credit default swaps (CDS) market, according to the European Commission. The Commission is seeking feedback from interested parties on the… Read More >>
Morgan Stanley’s RMBS Penalty Payments Hit $5 Billion
Morgan Stanley faces a total tally of $5 billion in penalties as it settles claims with federal and state government authorities over charges that the firm misled investors via its marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) during the years leading up to the Great Recession. The penalties and related payments stem from… Read More >>
Libor Acquittals Raise Doubts About SFO’s Future
The six acquittals in the recent Libor trial were seen as a blow to the Securities Fraud Office (SFO), the beleaguered regulator that savored victory in Tom Hayes’ conviction and unexpected long sentence. While it is too early to determine the outcome of the high profile Euribor cases set for trial next year, an unsuccessful… Read More >>
