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The Morning Risk Report: World Bank Freezes Aid to Afghanistan
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The World Bank, based in Washington, D.C., has committed around $5.3 billion for reconstruction and development projects in Afghanistan since 2002. PHOTO: DANIEL SLIM/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Good morning. The World Bank suspended funding for dozens of projects in Afghanistan Tuesday, citing questions over the legitimacy of Taliban rule.
The Washington-based institution has committed around $5.3 billion for reconstruction and development projects in Afghanistan since 2002 through its International Development Association that helps the world’s poorest countries.
[Continued below...]
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As of April, the development association had 12 active projects totaling $940 million in commitments, the bank said in its latest update earlier this year. Separately, its Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund had 15 projects with $1.2 billion committed, it said in its April update.
Under its policies, the World Bank said it cannot disburse funds when there is no agreement by its 189 member countries on whether a country has a legitimate government. “We have paused disbursements in our operations in Afghanistan and we are closely monitoring and assessing the situation in line with our internal policies and procedures,” a World Bank spokeswoman said.
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DOJ to Return Up to $201 Million in Forfeited Funds to FIFA
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The U.S. Justice Department said it would begin the process of returning up to $201 million in funds it has seized through a yearslong corruption investigation into world soccer’s governing body, FIFA.
Federal prosecutors will repay an initial tranche of $32.3 million in forfeited funds to FIFA and its affiliates in North and Central America, the Justice Department said Tuesday, classifying them as victims of a bribery and kickback scheme.
The investigation, which was made public in 2015, had led to charges against more than 50 individuals and corporate defendants located in more than 20 countries, according to officials. To date, 27 individuals have pleaded guilty to the DOJ’s charges, and many have agreed to forfeit assets tied to the corruption scheme involving FIFA.
Prosecutors secured a guilty plea from Reynaldo Vasquez, a former president of El Salvador’s national soccer federation who was recently extradited to the U.S. Mr. Vasquez has agreed to forfeit $360,000, prosecutors said.
—Dylan Tokar
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The SEC’s investigation into Healthcare Services Group, which covered calculations for the years 2014 to 2017, was part of the EPS initiative run by the agency’s enforcement division. PHOTO: ARIEL ZAMBELICH/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Healthcare Services Group Inc. has agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges that it reported inflated earnings per share, the latest penalty levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission through an initiative aimed at uncovering potential violations of earnings management practices.
The Bensalem, Pa.-based company that provides housekeeping and other services to healthcare facilities engaged in accounting and disclosure violations that enabled it to report quarterly EPS that met analysts’ consensus estimates for multiple quarters, according to the SEC.
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PHOTO: WARNER BROS/EVERETT COLLECTION
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Pirated movies. Millions of people are watching high-quality, pirated online versions of Hollywood’s top movies sooner than ever after their releases, undermining potential ticket sales and subscriber growth as the industry embraces streaming.
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Copies of several of the year’s most popular films, from “The Suicide Squad” and “Godzilla vs. Kong” to “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Widow,” shot up almost immediately after their premieres to the top of the most-downloaded charts on piracy websites such as the Pirate Bay and LimeTorrents, according to piracy-tracking organizations.
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The coronavirus pandemic has heated up the long simmering debate on whether a swath of workers should need a license for jobs such as hair braiding, nursing and fitness training.
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A judge declared a mistrial in the trial of Michael Avenatti on charges that he stole millions of dollars in client funds.
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Federal prosecutors are investigating Barry Bennett, a Republican lobbyist and one-time unpaid campaign adviser to former President Donald Trump, over allegations that he secretly set up and funded a U.S.-based advocacy group without disclosing its ties to the government of Qatar, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The chief executive officer of a California liquor distribution company agreed to plead guilty in the nationwide college-admissions scandal in connection with a charge that she fraudulently got her son into the University of Southern California as a sports recruit.
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PHOTO: GABBY JONES/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Tucked into a sweeping bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate earlier this month are measures intended to help provide what many officials say is badly needed regulation of the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry. But some industry and national-security officials warn that the proposal could unintentionally push illicit cryptocurrency transactions into markets where the U.S. government has no reach, adding to the threat to American companies, government agencies and individuals.
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Josh Sapan will become executive vice chairman of AMC Networks, advising the company on its video-streaming efforts. PHOTO: VALERY HACHE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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AMC Networks Inc. Chief Executive Josh Sapan is stepping down, the company said Tuesday, capping a 26-year run. Mr. Sapan, 70, will be replaced in the interim by Matthew Blank, the former chairman of Showtime Networks and a senior adviser at the Raine Group, a merchant bank. The company said it would conduct a search for a permanent replacement for Mr. Sapan.
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Boeing Co. named a new top engineer for its commercial aircraft division, as the unit works to overcome design setbacks and faces increased regulatory scrutiny.
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Goldman Sachs employees who aren’t fully vaccinated by Sept. 7 must work from home, a company memo said. PHOTO: GABBY JONES FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will require employees and visitors to its offices to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 starting Sept. 7.
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Yelp Inc. reviews fuel fights over Covid-19 vaccine requirements, as the popular reviews site lets businesses list vaccine policies—and has to deal with the fallout
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A gap has formed between the demand for goods in the well vaccinated U.S. and the capacity of sparsely vaccinated manufacturing countries to meet it, building inflationary pressure. The outbreaks in Vietnam and elsewhere add to a long list of challenges—including outbreaks at ports, freight-container shortages and rising raw-material prices—that companies face in delivering goods at low cost and on time ahead of the holiday season.
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