Whistleblower News From The Inside -- December 21, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Apple appeals €13 billion EU tax ruling – Apple contests the EU’s decision requiring it to repay billions in illegal tax breaks from Ireland.  Apple says it “is not an outlier” but “is a convenient target because it generates a lot of headlines.”  CNN

Energy company settles SEC whistleblower retaliation charges for $1.4M – The SEC reached a settlement over internal-whistleblower retaliation with Oklahoma-based SandRidge Energy.  The settlement order alleges that SandRidge illegally terminated an employee after he raised concerns about how the company calculated its oil and gas reserves, instead preferring an employee “who could do the work without creating all of the internal strife.”  SandRidge also agreed to settle the SEC’s claims that it required employees to sign illegally restrictive separation agreements that forbid cooperation with SEC and other government investigations.  SEC

Whistleblower tip leads to cross-border tax fraud action against UBS – Swiss paper Le Temps has gained access to the 126-page prosecution summary filed on June 24 by the French National Financial Prosecutor in its ongoing case against UBS.  The summary accuses UBS of “aggravated laundering of tax fraud,” and requests that UBS France, UBS Switzerland, and six former bankers face trial.  Swiss Info

Lab industry whistleblower predicts continuing clash between Trump and U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Chris Riedel, successful FCA whistleblower, points to opposing positions on defense and healthcare spending, immigration, trade, and tax policy in predicting an ongoing battle between the President-elect and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  The Hill

U.S. Government seeks repayment from students defrauded by Corinthian Colleges – The Department of Education promised loan forgiveness to certain former Corinthian Colleges students who were duped by the for-profit institution’s false job placement rate advertisements. But the government is still collecting on many of those loans.  Bloomberg