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The Morning Risk Report: Ex-Head of Chinese Firm’s Charity Sentenced for Bribery, Money Laundering Charges
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Patrick Ho Chi-Ping was convicted in December on seven counts of bribery and money laundering associated with his work for CEFC China Energy Co. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Good morning. A U.S. court sentenced a former pitchman for a Chinese oil company to three years in prison following his conviction on bribery charges. Patrick Ho Chi-Ping was convicted in December on seven counts of bribery and money laundering associated with his work for a once-highflying Shanghai-based oil company, CEFC China Energy Co. He was also ordered Monday to pay a $400,000 fine.
U.S. prosecutors alleged that while the head of CEFC’s charity arm, the 69-year-old surgeon-turned-politician used the organization’s affiliations with the United Nations to orchestrate payment of $2.5 million in bribes to two African leaders to win deals. The governments of those countries, Chad and Uganda, denied the U.S. government’s claims.
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CEFC quickly established a global business network but has suffered substantial financial problems in recent years, and failed to complete billions of dollars in proposed deals from Moscow to Manhattan.
The case follows two other Justice Department prosecutions in recent years related to alleged bribery at the United Nations involving other China-connected figures, a Macau real-estate billionaire and a China-born naturalized U.S. businesswoman.
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The Future of Corporate Compliance
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Join The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance in Houston on April 11 for an interview with Stratfor’s vice president of global analysis, Reva Goujon, on how world events are creating corporate risk, followed by a panel discussion on energy company compliance with Christine Stevenson, chief compliance officer for integrated supply and trading at BP Americas and Brent Benoit, chief compliance officer of National Oilwell Varco. Register here.
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Attorney Michael Avenatti on Feb. 25 PHOTO: ASHLEE REZIN/SUN-TIMES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Attorney Michael Avenatti, who seized the spotlight last year as a lawyer for adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, was arrested Monday and charged in two federal cases with wire fraud, bank fraud and attempting to extort more than $20 million from Nike Inc.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation is creating a special committee of experts to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety approval process for Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX aircraft, the latest sign of stepped-up scrutiny of the grounded jets.
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Hewlett Packard bought U.K. software developer Autonomy for $11.1 billion in 2011. Just a year later, the famed U.S. tech company said it had been duped into overpaying as it took an $8.8 billion write-down. On Monday, seven years after the allegation, the two sides met in court to continue the trans-Atlantic feud pitting the Silicon Valley icon against what was once the British tech industry’s biggest names.
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Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay $775 million to resolve claims that the blood thinner Xarelto causes excessive bleeding, according to the companies.
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Japan’s financial watchdog recommended a fine of $1.2 million for a unit of Citigroup Inc. for alleged manipulation of the futures market for Japanese government bonds.
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Duke University has agreed to pay $112.5 million to settle claims that it knowingly included fake data in applications for federal grants that brought more than $200 million into that school and other nearby universities.
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Prominent college coaches and defendants who allegedly arranged for fraudulently boosted ACT or SAT scores appeared in federal court in Boston Monday as part of the largest college-admissions scandal ever prosecuted by the Justice Department.
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A Men's Wearhouse store in Edgewater, N.J., last year. PHOTO: DOMINICK REUTER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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With fewer men buying suits, retailers of tailored clothing are trying to adapt to a world in which it is no longer unthinkable to wear Lululemon pants to the office.
Jos. A. Bank, a chain known for selling suits to the corporate masses, one of the largest suit sellers along with its sibling Men’s Wearhouse, both owned by Tailored Brands Inc., is starting to feel the bite as more companies give their blessing to casual attire. In recent weeks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Target Corp. joined the parade of companies that have relaxed their dress codes.
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Actresses Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston speak during Apple’s launch of TV+, a service for its first original TV shows, in Cupertino, Calif., on Monday. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Apple Inc. on Monday announced new products that extend its reach in entertainment, financial services, news and videogames, a suite of services that mark a major strategic shift by the tech giant as it seeks fresh growth amid softening sales in its core iPhone business. Apple also launched its highly anticipated credit card in collaboration with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Monday, called the Apple Card, positioning it as a more user-friendly and secure alternative in a crowded market.
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Uber Technologies Inc. on Tuesday said it is acquiring Middle Eastern rival Careem Networks FZ for $3.1 billion, a deal that ends another cutthroat ride-hailing battle ahead of an expected initial public offering.
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AT&T Inc. said it has renewed a contract to continue carrying Viacom Inc.’s channels, avoiding a programming blackout that would have left more than 24 million pay-TV customers without channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
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McDonald’s Corp. is buying Israeli digital startup Dynamic Yield Ltd., in a bid to improve in-store ordering and online marketing at the burger giant. McDonald’s will pay more than $300 million for closely held Dynamic Yield, people familiar with the matter said.
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Venmo, the digital money-transfer service operated by PayPal Holdings Inc., is ratcheting up pressure on users the company says owe it money for transactions that went awry.
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Nintendo Co. plans to launch two new versions of its Switch gaming console as early as this summer, people familiar with the matter said, as the company seeks to sustain sales momentum for the product going into a crucial third year.
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Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Energy Transfer LP said they are pursuing plans to convert a liquefied-natural-gas import facility in Louisiana into an export terminal, a bet that the future of U.S. shale gas lies in selling it for higher prices in overseas markets.
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Gary Goldberg, CEO of Newmont Mining. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER GOODNEY/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Newmont Mining Corp. will issue a special dividend in an effort to quash a brewing shareholder revolt that threatened the company’s takeover of Goldcorp, a deal that will create the world’s largest gold miner. Two large Newmont shareholders said last week that the company’s $10 billion merger with Goldcorp transferred significant gains away from a recently announced Nevada joint venture between Newmont and Barrick Gold Corp. The January merger deal was struck before the Nevada agreement.
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A trio of activist investors thinks Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s business model has gotten sleepy and plans to give the big-box retailer a wake-up call. Three activist funds—Legion Partners Asset Management LLC, Macellum Advisors GP LLC and Ancora Advisors LLC—together control a roughly 5% stake in Bed Bath & Beyond and are preparing to launch a proxy fight to replace its entire 12-person board, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Clea O'Hana, co-founder of personal-styling company Wishi, said women in New York’s retail industry have opened doors. PHOTO: ERIN LEFEVRE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Silicon Valley has long been the epicenter of tech talent and investor cash, but startup founders who recently made the move to New York City say a Bay Area address isn’t necessary to start a successful tech firm. Worries about finding skilled workers and seed money in New York City have waned, and several founders pointed to perks like subsidized office space and proximity to their customers in the finance, health care and retail industries. Others said they wanted to escape Northern California’s “bubble,” where everyone in line at Starbucks is speculating about the next unicorn.
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