Search

The U.S. government claims that Credit Suisse Group, among other banks, illegally handled money belonging to Iran and deliberately concealed the transactions. The funds were to be used to buy supplies to manufacture weapons. Credit Suisse expects to pay $536 million in penalties resulting from the investigation.

The U.K. Revenue and Customs department is investigating whether Barclays PLC set up offshore financial structures with other U.S. and European banks with the purpose of avoiding taxes. The inquiry was initiated after internal bank documents were leaked to the British opposition party. It will first have to be determined whether Barclays' transactions were illegal.

Immediately before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and before the sale of its U.S. brokerage business to Barclays PLC, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. transferred more than $8 billion in funds from its European unit to its New York headquarters raising concerns about the appropriateness of the company's actions. Lehman Holdings' European branch, Lehman Brothers International (Europe), is currently negotiating its acquisition by Japanese investment bank Nomura Holdings Inc. and plans to seek repayment of the $8 billion from its parent company. Before approving Lehman Holdings' sale to Barclays, a bankruptcy court judge opined that any issues related to the money transfers should be addressed later and not delay the company's sale. Other Lehman Holdings' units and clients in Europe and Asia may raise opposition to the transfers which may warrant investigation.

Financial giant UBS AG is expected to undergo organizational changes as the company prepares to report second-quarter results on Tuesday. The changes are likely to include the sale of UBS's money-management and brokerage unit in the U.S., and investment bank. UBS's bad investment write-downs could reach $43 billion. In a settlement with U.S. authorities, UBS will also buy back $19 billion in auction-rate securities following allegations of securities fraud. Also, UBS private bankers are being investigated by U.S. authorities for allegedly helping clients evade taxes.

UBS AG's new chairman, Peter Kurer, announces executive board changes which include appointing independent directors, and streamlining the board's decision-making process. Article discusses UBS's recent losses stemming from the global credit crisis, financial standing, stock value, shareholder relations, and tax-evasion probe by U.S. authorities.

Swiss bank UBS AG's private banking branch is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over alleged tax evasion and possible failure to obtain the proper credentials to operate as a securities broker within the U.S. Article discusses UBS's tarnished image stemming from tax evasion probes in Europe, $38 billion write-downs, reported first-quarter net losses of $10.97 billion, and planned layoffs.

The London interbank offered rate rose for the second time in as many days, and just two days after an announcement by the British Bankers' Association that it launched an investigation into the borrowing rates banks have reported to it. The BBA oversees interest rate calculation. Six-month Libor is currently at 2.7%; interest bills for commercial and residential borrowers are expected to increase.

Germany's HSH Nordbank AG has filed a suit in New York state court seeking a restitution sum of $275 mil plus punitive damages from Swiss bank UBS AG. HSH alleges UBS duped the lender into buying $500 mil in investments from a now-closed hedge fund that it used as a depository for subprime mortgage securities. UBS has filed a countersuit in the UK, but details have not been made public.

Byline: DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS AND CARRICK MOLLENKAMP; WALL STREET JOURNAL STAFF Jerome Kerviel, the Societe Generale employee who sparked the world's biggest-ever trading loss, was so low on the bank's totem [...]

French bank Societe Generale S.A. has lost $7.2 bil due to large unauthorized trades made by a 31-year-old trader, Jerome Kerviel. Kerviel disguised the trades via computer hacking. Societe Generale is now seeking a capital infusion drawn primarily from its shareholders.

US real estate investment firm Luminent Mortgage Capital Inc. has sued the UK's HSBC Holdings PLC, alleging that HSBC's valuation of certain subprime mortgage bonds was inappropriately low, and bought the bonds at below their fair value, profiting at the fund's expense.

A U.S. Dept. of Justice investigation into money transfers at ABM AMRO Holding N.V. is delaying the sale of the Dutch bank to the U.K.'s Barclays PLC. ABM AMRO is attempting to resolve the issue so that the sale, valued at $80 bil, can be completed over the next two weeks.

Peter Sutherland, chair of British Petroleum Company PLC, is taking an active role in bolstering the company's image, in the face of investigations into the company's safety and energy-trading practices.

The investigation into the poisoning death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London on November 23rd from polonium 210 continues. Mr. Litvinenko was an associate of the prominent Russian exile Boris Berezovsky, a critic of President Vladimir Putin. London and the United Kingdom has become the home of many Russian elite emigres.

Tzvi Weiss, an American who was a victim of a suicide bombing while studying in Israel, is suing National Westminster Bank for damages related to the bombing . Weiss and his family are alleging that the British b ank should be held accountable for taking part in financing terrorist activities that led to the bombing. Their case claims that National Westminster Bank acted as a fundraising arm for the terrorist group Hamas.

Many United States credit card companies require customers to settle disagreements in arbitration rather than in litigation. A civil suit was launched in New York alleging collusion and violation of United States antitrust laws.

The investigation of the London terrorist bombings of the Tube, last Thursday morning has uncovered four friends of Pakistani descent who were traditional Muslims. Three of the suspects have been identified as Shahzad Tanweer, Hasib Hussain and Mohammed Sidique Khan, the fourth suspect is yet to be named. All four may have died in explosions they detonated.

Police investigation of the London terrorist bombings of last Thursday morning have produced one arrest and the raids of six homes. The British police suspect that the four men who set the bombs also died because of them, in what could be the first suicide bombing in a major Western city. Muslim extremists are implicated.

Banca Popolare di Intra of Italy bought collateralized debt obligations of $77.6 million from Bank of America Corp. and is suing as the securities were not safe. Some of the credit derivatives involved WorldCom Inc. and National Century Financial Enterprises. The Italian bank is claiming the securities were improperly sold and managed.

Banca Popolare di Intra, the Italian bank has filed papers against Bank of America Corp. alleging the company improperly managed and sold derivatives that resulted in a loss of $53.4 million for Banca Popolare di Intra.

Enrico Bondi, the government-appointed administrator of bankrupt Parmalat S.p.A., has filed a suit against Bank of America Corp., claiming that the bank played a role in obscuring Parmalat's dire financial straits just prior to the dairy product producer's collapse. Bondi believes that Bank of America's complicity in Parmalat's alleged fraud was not limited to its Italian offices, but was an effort carried out by several of the bank's foreign divisions.

Former HEALTHSOUTH Corp. CEO Richard M. Scrushy faces four new charges by the Department of Justice, including obstruction of justice, in addition to the other charges concerning accounting fraud.

Michael D. Martin, the former chief financial officer of HealthSouth Corporation, is being prosecuted for accounting fraud but is assisting with the investigations of others involved.

Although trusts are becoming more and more popular, the number of financial institutions that offer them is declining. At the same time, distrust sets in as more and more lawsuits are filed against trustees accused of mishandling trusts.