Old Fashioned Con Artistry Makes A Comeback

Traditional con artistry is making a comeback with cheque and procurement fraud as well as Ponzi scams on the rise.

While the spotlight has been on rogue traders and 'super' fraud cases in recent years, KPMG has found a surge in the number of individuals swindling employers, banks and the government.

The latest bi-annual Fraud Barometer reports that insider fraud is hitting corporates hard while more individuals are over-claiming benefits and evading tax.

Cases include a finance department employee who stole hundreds of thousands of pounds – leading to the closure of the company she worked for.

In another case, a family used false identities to claim £2.2m in HIV medication - which was then shipped to Africa and sold at a profit.

Identity fraud more than doubled in value from the year before to £26.3m, while counterfeit goods fraud was three times the five-year average at £22.9m.

Ponzi Schemes worth £72m came to court - also three times the level seen in 2011 and procurement fraud increased to £21.4m in 2012.

Hitesh Patel, UK Forensic Partner at KPMG, said: "In the last few years we have become used to sophisticated frauds at eye-watering values. 

"While the total value of fraud has dropped substantially in the absence of so-called fraud 'super' cases, the old-fashioned con man hasn't given up his tricks. 

"Times may be tough but the data shows that some people are unwilling to give up the lifestyles they've become accustomed to."

Fraud by either management or employees accounted for 80% of financial loss through fraud experienced by UK businesses in 2012.

Employee fraud cases rose to 35 in 2012, up from 22 the year before, with their value doubling from £12m in 2011 to £25.1m over the past year.

Tax evasion or benefit fraud cases rose to 15 from three in 2011.

Mr Patel said: "Tax evasion is one of the hot topics of the moment but an increasing assault on the social welfare budgets, particularly benefit fraud, is a real and increasing threat for the government, as shown by the latest figures. 

"Fraudulent actions of individuals in both the public and private sectors exacerbate the need to make cuts in the first place and cause more than just monetary loss: jobs can be lost and already tight government budgets are stretched further, with implications for the delivery of services."

The report also found a fall in the number of cases perpetrated by professional criminals, from 98 at the end of 2011 (valued at £1.4bn) to 79 in the 12 months to December 2012 (valued at £414m).

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mackerel Removed From 'Sustainable List'

Mackerel has been taken off a list of sustainable fish to eat regularly, amid a fear of overfishing.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said it downgraded mackerel and the fish, renowned for its omega 3 content, should only be eaten occasionally.

The removal by the MCS of mackerel from its list of "fish to eat" comes after the Marine Stewardship Council, which certifies fish stocks that are managed sustainably, suspended its certification of the north east Atlantic mackerel fishery.

Atlantic populations have moved north west into Icelandic and Faroe Islands waters, prompting their fishermen to fish more stock than was previously agreed and causing a dispute between the countries that target the fishery.

Mackerel has been a favourite fish for health-conscious Britons for a number of years.

Bernadette Clarke, fisheries officer at the MCS, said the stock has moved to follow its prey of small fish, crustaceans and squid.

Fish we should and shouldn't have on our plates

"As a result, both countries have begun to fish more mackerel than was previously agreed.

"The total catch is now far in excess of what has been scientifically recommended and previously agreed upon by all participating countries - negotiations to introduce new catch allowances have so far failed to reach agreement."

The conservation group said alternatives to mackerel included herring and sardine, and if people wanted to continue to buy mackerel, they should ensure it is as sustainable as possible - for example, fish caught locally using traditional methods.

TV chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said "politics and greed are getting in the way of common sense" in managing the mackerel fishery.

On his River Cottage blog, he said: "If the countries involved could agree sensible catch limits this could still be a certified sustainable fishery.

"We hope that these so-called 'mackerel wars' can be laid to rest as soon as possible, so we can all go back to eating mackerel again with a clear conscience."

He also said the MCS had advised that handline-caught mackerel from inshore boats was the best choice to make when eating the fish.

Another fish taken off the "fish to eat" list is gurnard, because of a lack of data on population levels and concerns about how stocks of the increasingly popular fish are being managed.

Many gurnard which are caught are discarded, a wasteful practice which sees useable fish thrown back into the sea, because there is still relatively low demand for them, Ms Clarke added.

But the latest version of the "fish to eat" list also shows that herring stocks, coley and Dover sole from the English Channel are all good to eat with a clear conscience.

Whiting from the Celtic Sea also appears on the list for the first time.

Cod stocks from the North Sea are still below recommended levels, the MCS said, but a number of other popular wild fish are given the green light to appear on the dinner plate, including haddock and lemon sole.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

FSA Arrests Five People Over Insider Dealing

Regulators and police have arrested two men and three women as part of an investigation into insider dealing and market abuse.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said the men, aged 37 and 62, and women, aged 39, 51 and 63, were in custody and awaiting questioning by police.

It searched four properties in London, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and North Yorkshire.

Asset management company Schroders said one of its employees was among those arrested in the early morning raids.

It said the person had been immediately suspended, but stressed the company was not involved in the investigation.

"The FSA has informed us that the allegations relate entirely to this individual's personal actions," it said in a statement.

"Schroders is not subject to any investigation. There is no indication of any detrimental impact on our clients or financial results."

The arrests come as part of a crackdown by the FSA on insider dealing.

The financial regulator is in the process of prosecuting six others in relation to the offence, which can carry a prison sentence of up to seven years.

It has secured 21 convictions to date - most recently that of Thomas Amman, an former investment banker at Mizuho International, who was sentenced to over two years in prison in December.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Oleg Deripaska: Oligarch Says Listen To Bankers

One of the world's richest men has told Sky News that the British economy is "lagging" the rest of the world and that "the UK Government should listen more to City bankers".

In an exclusive interview with Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch tells Sky Business Presenter Jeff Randall that in his view the City of London is not as attractive a place to raise finance as either the United States or Asia, and that the UK needs to "stay competitive" to attract foreign business investment.

In particular, the billionaire blames the "conservative" nature of UK financial regulation as a disincentive.

Vladimir Putin has overseen a strengthening of Russian power

In 2010 Mr Deripaska listed Rusal, the world's biggest aluminium producer, in Hong Kong, not London.

But he says that he does believe that Britain has proved "lucky and clever" in avoiding the eurozone crisis by taking the decision to stay out of the European single currency.

Mr Deripaska denied that he or indeed other Russian business leaders are in "Putin's pocket" and says the days of foreign companies paying off the Russian mafia to do business in Russia have gone.

Russia is no longer the "wild West" according to Mr Deripaska but he admits that in the 1990s "there was a failure of all institutions."

Mr Deripaska was once Russia's richest man, but his business interests suffered badly following the global financial crisis of 2008.

Vast territorial swathes of Russia hold valuable resources

In the Randall interview he refutes the suggestion that the current Russian President Vladimir Putin used his influence to save Mr Deripaska's businesses after the provision of a $16bn (£10bn) loan from the Russian authorities.

He tells Sky News that this was an "open deal" which "he was forced to repay at the first possible moment" and at an interest rate of 8%.

The Russian billionaire is known in the UK for his friendship with Nathaniel Rothschild which led to the political row billed as 'Yachtgate'.

There were heated exchanges between George Osborne and Peter Mandelson following visits to Mr Deripaska's yacht, which was anchored off the Greek island of Corfu in 2008.

Mr Deripaska owns and is chief executive of Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer. But his business interests run much wider and has significant stakes in carmaker Gaz, airports, construction and financial services.

Mr Deripaska is a friend of British financier Nathaniel Rothschild

Forbes magazine estimated his net worth last March as $8.8bn (£5.5bn) which would make him the 104th richest man in the world. But Mr Deripaska says he "doesn't have the free time" to follow Roman Abramovich's lead and buy an English Premier League side.

:: Sky News Business Presenter Jeff Randall has travelled to Moscow to speak at length to the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The whole interview will be broadcast on Jeff Randall Live tonight at 7pm.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Olympic Park To Host Summer Music Festivals

London's Olympic Park will partly reopen to the public this year for a series of summer rock concerts.

The London Legacy Development Corporation says the east London park will host the Hard Rock Calling and Wireless festivals in July under a deal with events promoter Live Nation Entertainment.

Live Nation will hold other concerts in the park's Olympic Stadium over the summer after gaining exclusive rights to the venue.

The £292m transformation of the Olympic Park, which began when the London 2012 Games ended, is set to take 18 months.

The 560-acre site, featuring new homes and schools, state-of-the-art venues and public parklands, is due to reopen to the public in stages between July and early 2014.

Live Nation is leaving its previous venue in London's Hyde Park after friction over noise and timing restrictions.

Last summer fans were angered when officials pulled the plug on a Bruce Springsteen-Paul McCartney duet in mid-song.

Financial terms of the London Olympic venue contract have not been disclosed.

Details of the acts and dates will be announced by the spring.

Shows starring Springsteen, Rihanna and Coldplay are among more than 400 concerts and performances in Europe that Live Nation has staged in the past year.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Raising Debt Ceiling Is Obama's New Term Priority

After a day of Inaugural high ceremony, US politicians are turning their attention to the urgent need to reach a deal on raising the government's debt ceiling and thereby avoid the risk of a disastrous default.

Congress must agree by the end of February to increase the limit on how much the nation can borrow so the government can service its debt.

President Obama has vowed he would not bargain over the debt limit and his inaugural speech showed he believes he has the upper hand.

"We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future," he said.

"The commitments we make to each other - through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security - these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great."

Barack Obama makes his Inaugural address on Monday

If Congress fails to agree a deal, the country could default on obligations like payments to bondholders by as early as February 15.

That would deal a heavy blow to global financial markets and undermine confidence in the world's largest economy.

However, Republicans do appear ready to raise the debt ceiling temporarily and have also backed away from their insistence on deep spending concessions in exchange for a deal.

House leaders have unveiled legislation to permit the government to continue borrowing money until May 18. It is slated for a vote on Wednesday.

The current debt limit is $16.4trn (£10.3trn), and while the proposed legislation does not set a specific limit, it would allow sufficient automatic increases to stave off a default.

Congress will once again be the focus of a last-minute fiscal deal

The measure marks a change in strategy for House Republicans, but the legislation is also aimed at prodding Senate Democrats to pass a budget after almost four years of failing to do so.

It would withhold the pay of lawmakers in either House or Senate if their chamber fails to pass a budget this year.

House Republicans have passed budgets for two consecutive years, but the Senate has not passed one since President Obama's first year in office.

Democrats have generally reacted coolly to the three-month extension.

It would take the debt limit issue off the table for several months but leave other choke points in place.

They include sharp, across-the-board spending cuts that would start to strike defence and domestic programmes alike on March 1 and the possibility of a partial government shutdown with the expiration of a temporary budget measure on March 27.

But failing to meet those deadlines would have far less serious consequences than defaulting on US obligations.

Republicans hope the need to deal with issues like the across-the-board cuts will cause Democrats and Mr Obama to agree to specific spending cuts.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

HMV: Hilco Throws Lifeline To Retail Chain

Retail restructuring group Hilco UK has acquired the debt of HMV, effectively giving it control of the administrator-managed entertainment chain.

The debt purchase has been taken from the books of the struggling retail chain's lenders, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds.

HMV's net debt last October stood at £176m.

During the debt negotiations HMV was set to remain under control of the administrators from Deloitte and not transfer to Hilco.

However Hilco's debt purchase means a route to rescue is now available, and  may save thousands of jobs.

Hilco had earlier been appointed to work alongside Deloitte to assist it in running the business.

Sky's City Editor Mark Kleinman first revealed details of gift cards and vouchers being honoured again by HMV, following a public outcry.

Deloitte announced the U-turn on Monday that HMV would resume selling vouchers cards to customers.

Controversy had surrounded the administrators' decision to ban redemptions of vouchers when Deloitte was appointed on January 14, despite the fact that they had been on sale until hours before the chain's collapse.

HMV's lifeline comes amid shudders on the high street as successive chains face closure.

This month alone, Jessops, Blockbuster and HMV have all called in administrators.

Late last year electricals chain Comet also announced it was calling in the accountants.

The hardest hit firms have been those that lack price competitiveness to online retailers.

Blockbuster has also struggled to offer alternatives to the convenience of online streaming of video.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Public Sector Net Borrowing Up By £600m

Public sector net borrowing rose to £15.4bn in December - £600m higher than in the same month in 2011.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, which excludes financial interventions like bank bailouts, were slightly higher than the £15.2bn expected by economists.

It comes after an unexpected increase in November, when borrowing rose to £17.5bn - up £1.2bn from in 2011 - as a result of falling energy company profits.

The figures take total borrowing so far this financial year (excluding a one-off transfer of Royal Mail pension assets) to £106.5bn - £7.2bn higher than in the same period in 2011.

The tax and spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said it expects borrowing to hit £108.5bn in 2012/13, but some economists are unconvinced.

National Australia Bank's Tom Vosa said he was unsure how the Government planned to meet its borrowing requirement this year.

"The good news is that it suggests the public sector essentially has supported the economy in the fourth quarter and ahead of GDP data on Friday," he said.

"But overall, without further downward revision to borrowing data or a significant increase in income in January, it's difficult to see how the Government will meet its borrowing targets."

Martin Beck, economist at Capital Economics, added that the figures confirmed the Government's fiscal consolidation plans were still off track.

He expects borrowing for the financial year to come in above the OBR's forecast at £113bn.

However, a Treasury spokesman said the figures underlined that the recovery in the Government's finances was taking time but the economy was healing.

On Friday the ONS is expected to reveal that output contracted in the final quarter of 2012, which - combined with the borrowing figures - would put further pressure on the UK's AAA credit rating.

Currently, all three of the major credit ratings agencies now have the UK on negative outlook.

ING economist James Knightley said: "The question is how long the UK can hold on to its AAA status.

"With the US and France having been downgraded by one ratings agency in the past couple of years, another disappointing UK borrowing number and a widely expected contraction in GDP on Friday will intensify the threat of the UK suffering the same fate."

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

TweetDeck: Twitter Bosses Sent Closure Letter

By Pete Norman, Sky News Online

Sky News has obtained a letter sent to one of Twitter's UK companies by the business regulator, giving it written warning of impending closure.

Cardiff-based Companies House sent the letter to the two American directors of TweetDeck, at their registered London address.

The letter, dated January 22, stated: "The Registrar of Companies gives notice that, unless cause is shown to the contrary, at the expiration of 3 months from the above date the name of TweetDeck Ltd will be struck off the register and the company will be dissolved."

The letter sent by Companies House on January 22

The two directors are also top executives of the social media giant's San Francisco-based parent firm, Twitter Inc.

Dick Costolo is the social media giant's chief executive and Alex Macgillivray is general counsel and head of trust and policy.

TweetDeck is a platform used by 'power users' of Twitter and helps integrate the programme with other social media platforms, but has repeatedly failed to file compulsory accounts.

It was bought from British founder Iain Dodsworth in May 2011 for a reported £25m, but has not filed any accounts to Companies House since that time.

TweetDeck missed account filing deadlines last September and again last month.

In December Sky News revealed that both of the social media giant's British firms, TweetDeck and Twitter UK Ltd, had been fined £375 each by Companies House for separate filing oversight.

Twitter UK, which is controlled through a Dublin-based parent firm, subsequently filed its abbreviated accounts for 2011, revealing a profit of £16,500.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo (l) and general counsel Alex Macgillivray

But TweetDeck has still not delivered accounts and has now been fined £750 and is now at heightened risk of closure and legal action.

According to Companies House, more than 2.7 million firms are actively registered and 99.1% are up to date in their filings.

Approached by Sky News, Twitter Inc declined to address the issue of continued regulatory filing problems in Britain.

Asked if it had plans to wind-down its UK subsidiary, a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement: "TweetDeck gives the Twitter experience more flexibility and allows advanced users to gain valuable insight into what's happening at this moment on Twitter.

"The TweetDeck team has been steadily innovating and improving the product, and we expect to see much more of that to come."

Last week Companies House informed the London Gazette of "a proposal to strike off" TweetDeck from the register.

TweetDeck has failed to file its compulsory accounts

The London Gazette is the official Government journal of record and allows officials at HM Revenue and Customs, along with creditors, to see firms at risk of being dissolved.

There is no suggestion TweetDeck has any outstanding tax liability.

Corporate solicitor Maung Aye, of Mackrell Turner Garrett, told Sky News: "Global companies usually have procedures in place to prevent problems like this arising in the first place. There should be clear lines of communication between the directors of the company and its professional advisors who would liaise with the directors to ensure the company's accounts are filed on time.

"At this stage it is unclear why the company has not filed its accounts. One possibility is that the company is in financial difficulty and is therefore not opposing the striking off action."

Mr Aye added: "I would however, expect the directors of the company to be advised that they should respond to the letters from the Registrar, in order to avoid any potential criminal liability and the company being fined."

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barclays Wields Jobs Axe At UK Investment Bank

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

London-based employees at Barclays' investment banking arm have been put on notice that their jobs are at risk as the bank launched a process to slash a "substantial" number of roles.

I understand that staff were emailed earlier today to say that Barclays was commencing a consultation process to identify potential redundancies across its investment banking business.

People familiar with the matter said the consultation process would end during the first half of February, and that all areas of the investment bank, including frontline deal-makers as well as back office staff, were under review.

News of the impending jobs cull, which insiders said was likely to involve hundreds of job cuts in London, comes weeks before Antony Jenkins, Barclays' new chief executive, outlines the results of a review of the bank's operations.

Mr Jenkins has already made it clear since taking over as the bank's boss in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal that Barclays would continue to be a universal bank, offering both retail and investment banking services, under his leadership.

However, his efforts to repair the group's tarnished reputation is likely to involve withdrawing from more contentious areas of the investment bank's operations, such as some elements of commodities trading and aggressive tax planning.

Last week, Mr Jenkins told Barclays staff that they would have to adhere to a strict new ethical code of conduct if they wanted to remain at the bank.

Reports late last year suggested that as many as 2,000 jobs would be shed at Barclays' investment bank but that the bulk of these cuts would take place in Asia and continental Europe.

People familiar with the matter said these reports had been "speculative" and that today's consultation process signalled that a substantial number of jobs were expected to go in the UK.

Barclays employs approximately just under 10,000 people at its investment bank in London, principally at its Canary Wharf headquarters. About 23,000 people work at Barclays' investment bank globally.

Since acquiring the US operations of Lehman Brothers after the collapse of the Wall Street bank in 2008, Barclays has made an aggressive push to become one of the world's pre-eminent investment banks. That drive, under Mr Jenkins' predecessor Bob Diamond, has met with some success but the cost of building that business has left many shareholders unimpressed.

Mr Diamond resigned following Barclays' £290m Libor fine, alongside Marcus Agius, Barclays' former chairman.

In a statement, a Barclays spokesman said: "We have begun a process of consultation with UK-based employees.

"This exercise is being carried out so that we can start to effect some of the strategic changes as a consequence of the Transform review of Barclays business, the outcomes of which will be announced on the 12th of February.

"Transform is explicitly intended to optimise the entire Barclays business and to accelerate our already strong performance. The changes planned for the Investment Bank are wholly consistent with that intent."

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More