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The Morning Risk Report: Arrest of Huawei CFO Hinges on Offshore Puzzle |
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Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou, shown here at an investment forum in Moscow in 2014, was arrested this month. PHOTO: ALEXEI DRUZHININ/RUSSIAN PPIO/ZUMA PRESS
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Good day. Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., told bankers in 2013 that her company no longer had a stake in Skycom Tech Co., a Hong Kong company that did business with Iran, and that she had quit its board, according to the executive’s defense.
Lawyers for Ms. Meng, who was arrested Dec. 1 in Canada at the request of the U.S. for alleged violations of Iran sanctions, said Friday that she and Huawei severed ties to Skycom in 2009 and can’t be held responsible for its activities in the years that followed.
[Continued below...]
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U.S. prosecutors say Skycom remained under Huawei’s control; between 2010 and 2014, they say, Skycom was used as a front for Huawei’s dealings with Iran in an arrangement that duped banks into approving millions of dollars in transactions that violated sanctions.
Ms. Meng denies the charges. A lawyer for Ms. Meng told a Canadian court on Friday that the idea the executive engaged in fraud will be “hotly contested.” Huawei has said it knows of no wrongdoing by Ms. Meng.
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| From Risk & Compliance Journal |
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Olympus Unit Settles Probe Over Device Linked to Infections |
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A unit of Olympus Corp. agreed to pay $85 million to resolve allegations from the U.S. Justice Department relating to a medical device widely used in hospitals that was linked to so-called superbug infections.
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Former PdVSA Official Pleads Guilty to Obstructing
Justice |
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A former procurement officer at Venezuela’s state-run energy company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to obstruct a continuing bribery probe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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U.K. Launches Crackdown on Limited Partnerships |
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U.S. Targets North Korean Censorship With Sanctions |
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U.S. Puts Sanctions on Gambia’s Former President |
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The State Department imposed sanctions against Gambia’s former president, who stepped down last year after a nonviolent military intervention by neighboring countries allowed a democratically elected successor to take over.
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Apple Hit With Sales Ban on Older iPhones in China |
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Apple Inc. was ordered by a Chinese court to stop selling older iPhone models after finding the company infringed on two patents held by Qualcomm Inc., casting uncertainty over Apple’s business in a critical market.
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Australia Looks to Rein in Power of Facebook and
Google |
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Australia’s antitrust regulator called for measures to curb the influence of Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google in news and advertising and warned a tech-sector watchdog may be needed to prevent abuses of power.
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Under Armour Ousts Two Executives After Review of
Expenses |
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Under Armour Inc. ousted two sports-marketing executives who were longtime associates of CEO Kevin Plank, after the apparel brand conducted an internal review of their department’s spending.
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Businesses Less Optimistic About Coming Year Than 12 Months Ago |
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Google plans to speed up the closure of its Google+ social network after discovering a new software bug. PHOTO: ALEXANDER POHL/NURPHOTO/ZUMA PRESS
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Google to Accelerate Closure of Google+ Social Network |
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Alaphabet Inc.'s Google said it would close the consumer version of its Google+ social network earlier than planned after discovering a new software bug that exposed the private profile information of 52 million users to outside app developers.
Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai is expected to face questions about the company’s handling of data, China strategy and perceived political leanings at his first Congressional hearing on Tuesday.
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Tivity Health to Buy Nutrisystem for $1.4 Billion |
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Tivity Health Inc. is buying weight-management firm Nutrisystem Inc. in a cash and stock deal the companies value at about $1.4 billion, the firms announced Monday.
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Tencent-Backed Auto-Trading Startup Looks to Raise
Capital |
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Travelport Agrees to Go Private in $2 Billion Deal with Siris, Evergreen |
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Anxious Businesses Make Plans for ‘No-Deal’ Brexit |
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As Prime Minister Theresa May works to save her deal to exit from the European Union, businesses on both sides of the English Channel are bracing for the worst—a “no-deal” Brexit—and planning for it.
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Verizon to Shed More Than 10,000 Workers in Voluntary
Separation |
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Verizon Communications Inc. will shed about 10,400 workers who have accepted a severance package as the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers works to cut $10 billion in costs and upgrade to a faster 5G network.
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Goodyear Shuts Down in Venezuela |
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Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is halting its Venezuelan operations and laying off its local workforce, union officials were quoted by Bloomberg News as saying. A member of the union said the company is paying severance packages to the employees, including giving them each 10 tires.
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Mass Resignation at Fund Confounds Japan’s Quest for Tech Unicorns |
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Rice Brothers Frustrated With EQT’s Operations |
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Two of the brothers who sold Rice Energy Inc. to EQT Corp. last year say the $4.7 billion oil-and-gas company is mismanaging its assets, and they want to take over running the company.
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