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The Morning Risk Report: Iranian Oil Executive Removed From U.S. Blacklist Holds Roles Linked to Iran’s Government
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Ahmad Ghalebani is shown in October 2019 at the signing of a manufacturing deal among AzarAb Industries and two other Iranian energy-sector companies, in a handout photo from Shana, the news service of Iran’s Oil Ministry.
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Good morning. An Iranian oil executive removed from U.S. financial blacklists last month because he had resigned from Iran’s national oil company now holds senior positions with two Iranian energy firms linked to the Iranian government, according to company officials and regulatory filings.
The executive’s role at the two companies appears to violate U.S. sanctions, analysts said, and is expected to fuel concern among U.S. lawmakers critical of the administration’s Iran policy. Both companies contract with Iran’s state energy firms, including the blacklisted National Iranian Oil Company, and one of the firms is substantially owned by a sanctioned state-owned Iranian bank.
[Continued below...]
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Former NIOC Chief Executive Ahmad Ghalebani was taken off the U.S. Iran sanctions list on June 11 because he no longer held that position in the state firm, “a verified change in behavior,” according to the Treasury Department. Mr. Ghalebani stepped down from that post in 2013, the same year he was originally blacklisted by the U.S.
The sanctions removal, made at Mr. Ghalebani’s request, lifted financial blocks from any assets he may have had within the U.S. and affords him unfettered access to the U.S. and other foreign markets. Critics said the removals weakened the U.S.’s negotiating position, among other objections.
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From Risk & Compliance Journal
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Credit Suisse’s Swiss Banking Arm Compliance Chief Steps Down
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The compliance chief of Credit Suisse Group AG’s Swiss banking arm has stepped down, creating another vacancy in the bank’s compliance function in the wake of fallout over losses tied to the meltdown of Archegos Capital Management.
Floriana Scarlato, the head of compliance at Swiss Universal Bank, has decided to leave the bank effective immediately, Credit Suisse said Monday. Ms. Scarlato will pursue a new challenge outside of the group, the bank said.
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The grand larceny allegation against Allen Weisselberg, center, magnifies the pressure on him to cooperate with authorities.
PHOTO: PETER FOLEY/SHUTTERSTOCK
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The most serious offense leveled in a 15-count indictment of former President Donald Trump’s longtime right-hand man, Allen Weisselberg, also carries the most uncertainty for New York prosecutors, according to legal scholars and white-collar defense attorneys.
The charge—a single count of second-degree grand larceny—stands out in the July 1 indictment, which alleges that the Trump Organization and Mr. Weisselberg, its chief financial officer, cheated on taxes over the course of more than a decade. Prosecutors say the company secretly padded Mr. Weisselberg’s compensation, subsidizing everything from his Upper West Side residence to home furnishings and private-school tuition. In all, prosecutors say, Mr. Weisselberg concealed around $1.8 million in taxable income and evaded more than $900,000 in taxes.
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PHOTO: JAE C. HONG/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk was in court Monday to defend the company’s purchase of SolarCity Corp., telling a judge that he didn’t act improperly during the negotiating process and doesn’t even enjoy running the electric-vehicle maker.
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ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese owner of popular short-video app TikTok, put on hold indefinitely its intentions to list offshore earlier this year after government officials told the company to focus on addressing data-security risks, people familiar with the matter said.
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France’s Competition Authority fined Google $593 million for allegedly violating orders to negotiate paid deals with news publishers, raising pressure on the company in a global fight over how and whether tech companies should pay for news.
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Police detained demonstrators in Katlehong, South Africa, on Monday.
PHOTO: SIPHIWE SIBEKO/REUTERS
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South Africa deployed its army Monday to help quell violent protests and widespread looting following the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma, as his lawyers sought to convince the country’s highest court that it had erred in convicting the former antiapartheid campaigner for contempt of court.
Last month, South Africa’s Constitutional Court sentenced the former president—who resigned in 2018 under pressure from his own African National Congress—to 15 months in prison after he refused to testify at a government-mandated commission investigating allegations of widespread corruption during his nine years in power.
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The European Union is putting on hold a proposed digital levy, an EU spokesman said Monday, after finance chiefs from the Group of 20 leading economies endorsed an overhaul of the rules for taxing international companies.
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Huawei Technologies Co. agreed to settle two U.S. patent-infringement lawsuits it brought against Verizon Communications Inc., avoiding at least one public fight over the Chinese electronics maker’s role in the telecommunications supply chain.
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Retailers say they are seeing a sharp increase in a type of return fraud in which consumers claim they never received their online orders even though they did.
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A ransomware attack forced the largest U.S. fuel pipeline to shut down for six days in May and led to gasoline shortages across several Southeastern states. In its wake, U.S. officials have sought to bolster the defenses of an industry that for years has had fewer cybersecurity rules compared with other critical infrastructure sectors.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with three experts in oil-and-gas cybersecurity about how companies, regulators and policy makers can advance the security of the nation’s energy infrastructure.
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Small businesses like contractors and plumbers are finding scant selection and elevated prices for new work vehicles.
PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
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Construction contractors, home cleaners and other service-based companies are struggling to find new work vehicles, a potential bottleneck in growing their businesses as demand for their services surges amid the rebounding economy.
A shortage of computer chips that are used for everything from engines to air bags has disrupted vehicle production for months, squeezing dealer inventory and leaving car shoppers with scant selection and elevated prices. As auto makers prioritize building pricey trucks and SUVs for individual buyers, commercial-fleet operators—which generally favor no-frills models and buy them at a discount—have been disproportionately affected, analysts and dealers say.
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