|
|
|
|
|
The Morning Risk Report: Lawmakers Launch Probe of Credit Suisse Compliance With Russia Sanctions
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning. U.S. lawmakers asked Credit Suisse Group AG to hand over information related to the bank’s compliance with sanctions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a letter to Credit Suisse Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein Monday, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D., N.Y.), chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D., Mass.), chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, asked the bank to hand over information on its financing of yachts and aircraft owned by potentially sanctioned individuals.
[Continued below...]
|
|
|
They are seeking the information following reports that Credit Suisse instructed investors in a recent debt deal to destroy and erase information related to its dealings with rich clients.
|
|
|
|
WSJ Risk & Compliance Forum
|
|
|
Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence and the senior U.S. Treasury official for sanctions, will be speaking at the Risk & Compliance Forum on May 10. We’ve also added a breakout session to discuss navigating sanctions imposed on Russia due to the Ukraine war. Use the code DJR&C to sign up here.
|
|
|
From Risk & Compliance Journal
|
|
|
New Federal Budget Seeks Increases for Financial Intelligence and Sanctions Units
|
|
The U.S. Treasury Department has requested $212 million for its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the federal budget for fiscal year 2023, reports Risk & Compliance Journal's Mengqi Sun, as the agency looks to upgrade the sanctions process following its sanctions review last year.
The requested amount for the office that develops and implements U.S. policies for combating terrorist financing and other financial crimes is a 14.5% jump from the requested funding for fiscal year 2022. The office’s budget request increased only 5.8% from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022 and received $10 million more than they requested for 2022.
A nine-month Treasury-led audit of U.S. sanctions policy, published in October, said the agency needs to adapt and modernize its underlying operational architecture to meet the emerging challenges that could potentially reduce the efficacy of sanctions, including cybercrimes, technological innovations such as digital currencies and new methods of hiding cross-border transactions.
|
|
|
|
|
A Southwest Airlines baggage handler loads luggage at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California. PHOTO: ROBYN BECK/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
The Supreme Court considered Monday whether airline baggage handlers can be compelled to resolve employment disputes through individual private arbitration, a case that could also help determine whether drivers for ride-share companies such as Lyft and Uber fall under the arbitration umbrella.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has previously read a 1925 statute, the Federal Arbitration Act, to bind employees and consumers to individual private arbitration when employers and retailers place legal clauses in form contracts, even when state laws or other federal statutes suggest they could bring class actions or file lawsuits to resolve disputes.
In March alone, the justices are hearing three employer appeals of lower-court decisions allowing workers to pursue wage-theft claims in court despite arbitration clauses.
|
|
|
-
The Department of Commerce said Monday that it will investigate whether Chinese solar producers are illegally circumventing solar tariffs by routing operations through four countries in Southeast Asia.
-
Former World Bank chief Kristalina Georgieva knew about a top official’s sexual misconduct but failed to take any action despite publicly saying she was a strong defender of female victims of sexual harassment, according to current and former bank staff.
-
Under pressure from progressive activists, Democrats are planning to employ a rarely used parliamentary maneuver to push through President Biden’s nominees for the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission, according to people familiar with the matter.
-
A federal judge said that former President Donald Trump and a law professor “more likely than not” committed a felony in their efforts to block the 2020 election results, in a ruling clearing the way for related emails to be turned over to congressional investigators.
|
|
|
|
|
Firefighters battled flames Monday in a warehouse in Kharkiv, Ukraine, that was hit by Russian shelling. PHOTO: ROMAN PILIPEY/SHUTTERSTOCK
|
|
|
|
Russian and Ukrainian officials held face-to-face negotiations on Tuesday morning over the terms of a possible settlement.
Some Ukrainian officials have expressed guarded optimism about a possible cease-fire after Russian forces failed to seize almost all of Ukraine’s major cities amid logistical problems and fierce Ukrainian resistance. Western officials say they see no sign so far that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to stop his assault on Ukraine, however.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky escalated his criticism of Western leaders for their reluctance to tighten sanctions on Russia or provide heavier weapons for Ukraine’s defense, as delegations from Kyiv and Moscow met for cease-fire talks in Turkey.
Mr. Zelensky, in a televised address late Monday, called for tougher sanctions, including an embargo on Russian oil sales to the European Union, to be implemented immediately rather than waiting for Moscow to step up its attacks, for example by using chemical weapons.
Read More:
|
|
|
-
Up to a dozen developing countries face increased risk of debt defaults in the coming year as the war in Ukraine boosts commodity prices and adds to existing Covid-19 pandemic-related pressures, a top World Bank economist said.
-
New Covid-19 restrictions in China dragged oil prices further below recent highs on Monday, with the prospect of reduced fuel demand easing some pressure on global crude markets.
-
President Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget calls for the largest-ever level of military spending and increased funding for law enforcement and plays down his proposals for expanding social programs in favor of backing initiatives generally favored by centrist lawmakers.
-
A historic gathering of U.S., Israeli and top Arab diplomats concluded Monday with fresh momentum for discussions to create new Middle East defense partnerships, as one-time foes pledged to meet regularly to boost economic and security ties.
-
Half of Shanghai went into lockdown on Monday, as authorities escalated measures to contain a spiraling Covid-19 outbreak in China’s financial capital.
|
|
|
|
|
IMAGE: EMIL LENDOF/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
|
|
|
|
In a secret chat room run by a group of Russian-affiliated cybercriminals, a hacker expressed excitement about a plan to attack and disable more than 400 U.S. hospitals. “There will be panic,” the hacker wrote, in Russian.
It was 2020, at a severe point in the pandemic, and the gang planned to hold hostage the computer systems of the hospitals, many of which were fighting to save Covid-19 patients.
U.S. authorities and cybersecurity researchers foiled large parts of the plan, warning hospitals before the hackers’ ransomware could be installed, but the hackers shrugged off the setback, according to a cache of data and documents leaked online in recent weeks.
The hacking enterprise, called the Trickbot Group by federal prosecutors, and its affiliates had already collected hundreds of millions of dollars by shutting down emergency rooms, city governments and public schools since 2018.
|
|
|
-
A preliminary data-transfer deal between the U.S. and European Union outlines a new mechanism for how Europeans can challenge U.S. surveillance but offers few details about the way it would work. The process could be the focus of legal pushback to the pending privacy agreement, which is seen as key for thousands of businesses that move information between the jurisdictions.
|
|
|
|
|
The proposal comes almost two years after Tesla enacted a 5-for-1 stock split. PHOTO: LIESA JOHANNSSEN-KOPPITZ/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
|
Tesla Inc. said it would request shareholder approval at its annual meeting for an increase in the number of shares of the electric-car maker to enable a stock split, though the company didn’t specify when such a split would take place or what the ratio of shares would be.
Tesla shares closed Monday at $1,091.84, up 8%. The auto maker typically holds its shareholder meeting in the fall.
Tesla is currently authorized to issue 2 billion shares. As of Jan. 31, the company had 1.03 billion shares outstanding.
|
|
|
-
HP Inc., the maker of PCs and printers, is buying videoconferencing gear maker Poly for about $1.7 billion in cash. The deal, which carries a price tag of about $3.3 billion including Poly’s net debt, is the largest HP has undertaken since the split of the Hewlett-Packard conglomerate in 2015.
-
E-commerce company Shopify Inc. agreed to provide $13.5 million to nine projects in its latest round of carbon-removal purchases.
|
|
|
|
|
Fred Smith, who appeared at a 2019 Chamber of Commerce event, invented the concept of express delivery. PHOTO: ANNA MONEYMAKER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
|
FedEx Corp. founder Fred Smith is stepping down as chief executive of the company he started more than 50 years ago with a few planes and built into a global delivery network that moves millions of packages a day.
Mr. Smith, 77 years old, is handing the CEO role to President and Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam. Mr. Smith, who is also chairman of the FedEx board, will transition to executive chairman on June 1, when the leadership change will take place.
Mr. Subramaniam, a company veteran of more than 30 years, is being named CEO-elect immediately. The 56-year-old has steered FedEx’s embrace of online shopping and was seen as Mr. Smith’s likely successor after he was named the No. 2 executive and joined the board in early 2020.
|
|
|
-
Months after returning home to a hero’s welcome in China, Huawei Technologies Co. finance chief Meng Wanzhou was back in the spotlight Monday. This time, she was in more familiar surroundings, taking the stage at Huawei’s headquarters to deliver the company’s closely watched annual results.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|