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Top-10 DOJ Fraud Recoveries For 2015

Posted  January 4, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Here is our look-back at the top-10 Department of Justice fraud recoveries for 2015.

     10.  NOVARTIS — The pharmaceutical giant agreed to pay $390 million to resolve charges it violated the False Claims Act by giving kickbacks to specialty pharmacies in return for recommending two of its drugs, Exjade and Myfortic.

     9.  BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON — The bank agreed to pay $714 million to settle charges the bank engaged in fraud and other misconduct when providing foreign exchange (FX) services to its customers. The bank admitted that contrary to representations to clients that it provided “best rates” and “best execution” for FX transactions, it actually gave clients the worst reported interbank rates of the trading day.

     8.  ALSTOM — The French power and transportation company was sentenced to pay a $772 million fine for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) through its payment of millions of dollars in secret bribes to government officials across the globe. According to the company’s own admissions, Alstom paid bribes to government officials and falsified books and records in connection with power, grid and transportation projects for state-owned entities around the world, including in Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Bahamas and Taiwan.  The 9-figure payout represents the largest criminal fine ever imposed for foreign bribery.

     7.  GENERAL MOTORS — The Detroit-based auto maker agreed to pay $900 million to settle criminal and civil charges of failing to disclose a deadly safety defect in its cars relating to the ignition switch.

     6.  S&P — The ratings agency giant, along with its parent corporation McGraw Hill, agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle charges it schemed to defraud investors in Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) and Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) by falsely representing that its ratings of RMBS and CDOs were objective, independent and uninfluenced by S&P’s business relationships with the investment banks that issued the securities.

     5.  TRADING WITH THE ENEMY — There were several nine-figure settlements this year with companies for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by facilitating US financial transactions for or otherwise working with foreign entities in Iran, Sudan, Cuba and other countries subject to US economic sanctions: Commerzbank AG ($1.45 billion); Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank ($787.3 million); Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings ($233 million); and BNP Paribas S.A. ($150 million). Click here for more.

     4.  DEUTSCHE BANK — The German-based financial institution and its UK-based subsidiary DB Group Services agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle US and UK charges relating to their role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading global benchmark interest rate.

     3.  FOREX — Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and RBS agreed to pay criminal fines totaling more than $2.5 billion and plead guilty to conspiring to manipulate the price of US dollars and euros exchanged in the foreign currency exchange spot market.  Click here for more.

     2.  ANDARKO PETROLEUM/KERR MCGEE — The companies agreed to make payments totaling $5.15 billion to be used for cleanups across the country that according to the government “will undo lasting damage to the environment, including contamination of tribal lands by Kerr-McGee’s businesses.” It is the largest payment for the clean-up of environmental contamination ever obtained by the DOJ.  Click here for more.

    1.  BP — The oil and gas company agreed to pay roughly $20.8 billion to resolve government claims under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act arising from the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which sent more than three million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a 3 month period, resulting in oil slicks that extended across more than 43,000 square miles. It is the largest settlement with a single entity in the DOJ’s history.  Click here for more.

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