Whistleblower News from the Inside - August 8, 2014

Russia grants Snowden three more years – NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden gets another three years asylum in Russia with the added bonus of being able to travel freely within the country and travel abroad for no longer than three months.  GAP

Oracle case to test bounds of Oregon’s False Claims Act? – Legal experts say that Oregon faces uphill battle against Oracle Corp. in their suit over the health insurance exchange debacle because the Oregon False Claims Act is seldom used and has a poor track record.  Oregon Live

Novartis kickback case to go forward – Judge ruled that the DOJ may pursue most of its lawsuit accusing Novartis of civil fraud for allegedly using kickbacks to boost sales of drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid.  Reuters

Dodd-Frank certification failure halts mineral trade – A certification process required under Dodd-Frank that is aimed at stopping “conflict minerals” originating in Congo from being smuggled into and exported out of neighboring countries has not yet been put in place, stalling Uganda’s $100 million mineral trade.  Wall Street Journal

Wine fraud tricky to pull off? – Despite reports that 5 percent of wine consigned and sold at auctions is fake, experts say that it is tough to fake the taste of an old bottle of wine – which is apparently reminiscent of canned asparagus.  BBC News

How much is a $16 billion settlement really worth? – Preliminary reports say that a record breaking $16 billion settlement will soon be announced between the Justice Department and Bank of America for BofA’s alleged mortgage fraud, but take into account tax deductions, the actual cost to consumers, the value of the fraud, and other factors and BofA may still come out on top.  Huffington Post