Search Results for: Russia

THE COUNTRIES on either side of the European Union’s (EU) eastern frontier are plagued by corruption. All have anti-fraud laws that notionally empower authorities, but in reality efforts by scrupulous officials holding public office are all too often undermined by the disparity in punishments for similar offences in different countries, as well as the political appetite to pursue fraudsters.…

CHINESE investors in London’s property market are becoming increasingly important players, and the signs are that the flow of Yuan into the UK capital could keep growing. Michelle Zhang, who heads up the China desk at DTZ London, said: “CIC [China Investment Corporation] would be viewed as the most active Chinese investor and now have a number of prime London property holdings;” she highlighted the Chinese sovereign fund’s recent GBP245 million purchase of Deutsche Bank headquarters Winchester House, from KanAm, undertaken alongside Invesco.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) should be the second supplier of pork to the Japanese market, up from the fourth place now, once a planned EU-Japan free trade agreement (FTA) is in place, Jean-Luc Mériaux, secretary general of the European Livestock and Meat Trading Union (UECBV) told globalmeatnews.com…

WHEN it comes to the oil and gas sector, few countries can match Russia’s investment opportunities. The country’s oil production in 2012 reached 518 million tonnes while reserves grew by 681 million tonnes. This multibillion dollar industry accounts for about half of the Russia’s budget revenue, but just as it is lucrative, it is also difficult to manage.…

SHOULD Middle Eastern oil producers, Saudi Arabia in particular, be price makers rather than takers, confined to influencing prices through OPEC quotas? With OPEC’s contribution to overall oil production dwindling compared to non-OPEC producers’ output, and rising domestic demand in the Arab world, there are strong arguments for price signalling, but the turmoil in the region means any change in strategy will be difficult to implement.…

THE ENERGY sector has been left guessing whether there will be a robust future international climate change agreement after the latest global diplomatic meeting on the subject in Doha, Qatar. Delegates attending the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change were tasked from November 26 to December 7 with solving two key issues: devising a post-Kyoto Protocol agreement that will kick in from 2020; and also devising a holding agreement for countries wanting to reduce emissions from the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol this December until the new agreement comes into force.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has put forward an action plan aimed at creating a lasting remedy for Europe’s troubled olive oil sector which has suffered a near-calamitous loss of profitability in recent years. Unveiled last June, the plan follows a sequence of temporary and not wholly successful boosts to the sector in the form of injections of private storage aid between October 2011 and May last year.…

THE BIDDING for a contract to expand Temelín nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic is approaching decision time, with the winner of the four-year long tender process to be chosen in 2013. Worth USD10 billion, the contract represents the largest public tender in the country’s history and has generated considerable debate, from safety issues and the distinctions between the various reactor designs and their technologies, to political and economic issues regarding everything from energy security to the deal’s transparency.…

THE USA’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled a bribery case with Indiana-based pharmaceutical Eli Lilly & Company, where the company has agreed to pay more than USD29 million in fees, penalties and charges. Lilly was charged with violations of America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) over alleged bribes by its subsidiaries to foreign government officials in Russia, Brazil, China, and Poland, in return for business.…

THE CHINESE government is drafting a new five-year anti-corruption plan for 2013 to 2017, which is expected to increase supervision of lower-ranking Communist party cadres. To be finalised and published before June, the new plan, said a Politburo statement is likely to “intensify supervision of officials’ adherence to various disciplines…” The statement backed more “limits and supervision of officials’ power and campaigns to promote a clean work style at grassroots levels…”

Other recent international fraud news:

*Global law enforcement representatives and football executives have met for the first time at a conference held to combat match fixing frauds, which generate millions of dollars of illicit gambling revenue for organised crime syndicates.…