Whistleblower News From The Inside — August 3, 2015
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Tom Hayes Convicted of Libor Rigging — In a major victory for the U.K.’s Serious Frauds Office, a London jury convicted Tom Hayes, a former trader at UBS AG and Citigroup Inc., with fraudulently trying to rig the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, the first criminal conviction of an individual for manipulating the widely used benchmark. Mr. Hayes, a 35-year-old Briton who worked in Tokyo during the period of his crimes, was charged in June 2013 with eight counts of conspiracy to defraud. He was convicted on all of those counts, and faces a jail sentence of potentially more than 10 years. A judge will sentence him at a later date. WSJ
Texas’ Attorney General Charged With Securities Fraud — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton turned himself in Monday to face charges that he misled investors and didn’t disclose money he made for referring financial clients as part of his private business before becoming the state’s top lawyer in January. Paxton faces two counts of first-degree securities fraud and a lesser charge of failing to register with state securities regulators. Each of the fraud counts carries a punishment of five to 99 years in prison. Questions about Paxton’s financial dealings shadowed the tea party conservative throughout his first seven months on the job. His aides have denied any wrongdoing by Paxton and described the criminal investigation led by two special prosecutors as a political smear campaign. Neither Paxton nor his attorney has commented on the matter since news of the indictment leaked over the weekend. ABC News
Leaked doping files –New evidence regarding extensive abnormal results in 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012 has become public. A whistleblower has provided media with the blood tests files belonging to world governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The World Anti-Doping Agency says it is “very alarmed” by these fresh allegations of suspected doping, saying the results would “once again, shake the foundation of clean athletes worldwide.” BBC
GSK re-hires China government relations exec linked to whistleblower probe – Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline PLC said on Monday it had re-hired Vivian Shi, a former Chinese government affairs executive at the firm who was the focus of an internal probe into information leaks alleging bribery at the company’s China unit. GSK was fined $489 million last year after a Chinese police investigation concluded the firm had paid doctors to prescribe its drugs. Shi was named in the internal investigation carried out on behalf of GSK China into a series of emails alleging bribery by the British firm, and which were sent to Chinese government agencies and senior GSK staff. Reuters
UK financial groups face watchdog antitrust investigation — A “significant number” of financial companies are facing an antitrust investigation by the UK’s markets watchdog, in its first test of broad new powers. The Financial Conduct Authority has opened inquiries into several cases of suspected anti-competitive practices, its head of strategy and competition told the Financial Times in an interview. The FCA’s competition powers, which it inherited this year, enable the regulator to fine a company as much as 30 per cent of its worldwide turnover in a relevant market if it finds evidence of wrongdoing. Financial Times
EU opens probe into FedEx, TNT deal – The European Commission on Friday opened an in-depth investigation into FedEx Corp.’s EUR4.4 billion ($4.8 billion) deal to buy TNT Express NV, saying it was concerned about the merged company’s dominance in the international delivery of small packages in some European markets. The commission, the European Union’s antitrust watchdog, said the two remaining international delivery companies, United Parcel Service Inc. and DHL Worldwide Express Inc., may not provide sufficient competition to the merged company. “This could lead to higher prices for business customers and consumers,” the commission said. Marketwatch