Archive
International News Services archives articles supplied to clients one year or more after initial publication. These articles are protected by a password and not made available to readers without permission from clients. They are used as a background resource by agency journalists. Upon client requests, International News Services will remove such articles from the archive or not upload them in the first place. They are included to demonstrate the breadth of topics undertaken by the agency and also to help promote clients’ coverage.
BRITAIN’S SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE UNDER SCRUTINY – WHAT CHANGES ARE NEEDED?
Following the collapse of two high profile cases against mining majors Rio Tinto and ENRC (1), there have been broad calls for the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to be reformed to better tackle complex cases. This includes reforms ranging from changing the disclosure regime and its investigative model, to better funding and more cooperation with other enforcement agencies.…
UK SFO CHARGES FOUR FOR FRAUD OVER PATISSERIE VALERIE COLLAPSE
The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has brought fraud charges against four individuals, including a former director, for their role in the October 2018 collapse of high street bakery chain Patisserie Valerie. The SFO said on September 13 that it has charged former director and chief financial officer Christopher Marsh, and his wife, accountant Louise Marsh, as well as financial controller Pritesh Mistry and financial consultant Nileshkumar Lad, with conspiring to inflate the cash in Patisserie Holdings’ balance sheets and annual reports from 2015 to 2018, including by providing false documentation to the company’s auditors.…
UK PUBLIC SECTOR FRAUD BODY SAVED GBP311 MILLION IN FIRST YEAR
The UK’s new Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) saved taxpayers GBP311 million (USD377.5 million) in its first year of operation, far outstripping the GBP180 million (USD218 million) target set at its launch in August 2022. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, minister for the Cabinet Office, unveiled the “big win for taxpayers” at a September 2023 meeting of the International Public Sector Fraud Forum, which brings together the so-called ‘Five Eyes’ nations – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the United States – to share best practice in combatting public sector fraud.…
UK GOVERNMENT MISSED KEY OPPORTUNITIES TO TACKLE FRAUD BY SQUASHING CRIME BILL AMENDMENTS
The UK Government has missed key opportunities to tackle fraud and strengthen its Economic Crime Bill (1), as it is debated and amended in parliament, campaign group Spotlight on Corruption has complained (2). It pointed to three “game changing” amendments to the bill passed in the upper House of Lords that it rejected through its majority in the House of Commons, starting with removing an SME (small-and-medium-sized enterprise) waiver from a planned ‘failure to prevent fraud offence’, leaving SMEs themselves more vulnerable to fraud: “Anti-fraud procedures to prevent companies committing fraud are largely similar to those that prevent them being victims to fraud,” said a Spotlight on Corruption note.…
CHINA’S DENIM DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTERS CONQUER NEW GROUND
Chinese textile companies are bringing digital textile printing into the realms of denim and yarn to replace unsustainable dyeing processes, industry observers have told Digital Textile.
‘Digital denim’ made using a computer and printer involves applying inkjet printing dyeing’ on cotton fabric to make the ‘digital denim’ fabric resembling different styles of jeans has become increasingly popular within China’s textile sector.…
PRICE RISES AND RUSSIA’S WAR FALLS PUT SQUEEZE ON POLISH DAIRY SECTOR
Retail prices of manufactured dairy products in Poland are falling, while the costs of production and processing are rising. Market insiders say this is already pushing many small dairy farmers and manufacturers to the edge.
“Production costs for farmers and milk processors have increased dramatically,” said Agnieszka Maliszewska, director of the Polish Chamber of Milk (PIM – Polska Izba Mleka).…
WILL ROBOTS ONE DAY BE ABLE TO TAKE OVER ALMOST ALL PRODUCTION STEPS IN CLOTHING PRODUCTION?
Research and development has been making major progress in the handling of limp objects such as fabric – a key challenge to the automation of the clothing industry. However, the clothing industry is still far from widely adopting robots, as a range of technical and economic realities are still working against these technologies.…
SUBTLE UNDERSTANDING OF RED FLAGS CAN GUIDE FRAUD INVESTIGATORS TOWARDS FINANCIAL CRIME
Fraud investigators are often meticulous and driven, building a case for their employers that may end up in court – but what red flags might spark an initial inquiry?
Written advice is widely available – from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and government agencies responsible for white collar crime.…
SINGAPORE CRACKS DOWN ON EXPAT MONEY LAUNDERING RING EXPLOITING ITS BANKS
A group of 10 foreign nationals, all ethnically Chinese, have appeared at Singapore’s State Courts accused of operating a Singapore dollars SGD1 billion (USD738 million) international money laundering ring. The group have all been denied bail in preliminary hearings, following an island-wide set of police raids on August 15 involving more than 400 police officers.…
FALLING DEMAND, FORCED LABOR REGULATIONS HAMMER VIETNAM’S FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY
This year, tens of thousands of workers have been laid off by footwear production factories in and around Ho Chi Minh City, the centre of Vietnam’s USD24 billion footwear export industry.
Fo example, Pou Yuen Vietnam, a Taiwanese supplier for global giants including Adidas and Reebok, let go 5,744 employees through June and July, following a round of layoffs impacting 2,358 workers in February. …