-  Investigations updates from around the world

Swedish bribery investigation extends to Uzbek president’s daughter

Swedish prosecutors have opened an investigation of the Uzbek president’s daughter Gulnara Karimova in connection with bribery allegations concerning telecoms company TeliaSonera. According to Reuters, prosecutors told a court in Stockholm that they suspect Karimova “orchestrated” the bribery scheme.

WilmerHale hires former FBI head

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has hired the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller III as partner in its investigations and strategic counselling practices, the firm has said.

More Finmeccanica bribery arrests

Italian authorities have arrested two former managers of the country’s state-owned engineering company in connection with a widening corruption investigation, according to The Financial Times.

Mexico interviews chief executive in Citigroup investigation

Mexican authorities have interviewed the chief executive of oilfield services company Oceanografia in connection with a fraud investigation initiated by US bank Citigroup, according to Reuters.

JPMorgan's top China banker announces departure amid US investigations

Fang Fang, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s chief executive for investment banking in China, is to retire after 12 years with the bank, according to reports in the financial press. The decision was announced in an internal memo released today.

GIR in the Netherlands

Next week Global Investigations Review will be reporting from the 2014 ACFE European Fraud Conference in Amsterdam. David Green, director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, will be speaking, as will Marco Gercke, director of Germany’s Cybercrime Research Institute and Patrick Donovan, chief compliance officer at Airbus in France.

Och-Ziff in FCPA investigation

The US Department of Justice and Securities & Exchange Commission are investigating whether Och-Ziff may have violated FCPA rules, according to the company’s latest SEC filing. Och-Ziff said the investigation concerns an investment by a sovereign wealth fund in some of its own funds in 2007, as well as investments made by Och-Ziff in certain African companies.

Judge accuses SFO of mismanaging Dahdaleh case

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith in London’s Southwark Crown Court today said the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) relied on Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to an “extraordinary extent” to help build its bribery case against businessman Victor Dahdaleh.

Simpson Thacher employee charged with insider trading

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett clerk Steven Metro and Morgan Stanley trader Vladimir Eydelman have been charged with insider trading after making US$5.6 million in illicit profits, the SEC said in a statement on Wednesday.

OECD launches anti-tax evasion initiative

44 countries and territories have signed up to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s proposals set to “clamp down on tax evasion” through an automatic exchange of information between tax authorities.

FCA fines insurance firm for anti-bribery controls

Besso Limited must pay £315,000 (€377,000) to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to establish and maintain effective systems and controls to prevent bribery and corruption.

DG Comp comes down hard on car parts cartel

The European Commission has fined five car part manufacturers almost €1 billion for operating a cartel – one of the largest penalties it has ever imposed.

Donziger appeals against Chevron fraud ruling

As expected, US lawyer Steven Donziger today appealed against the ruling that the multi-billion award he secured for indigenous Ecuadoreans was the product of fraud.

Australia launches forex and tax investigations

Australia’s Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has confirmed it intends to join the global investigation of potential foreign exchange manipulation – only a day after Australia's Taxation Office (ATO) disclosed it is investigating 86 multinational companies for alleged profit shifting.

Citigroup announces AML chief retirement

Citigroup global anti-money laundering head Sagheer Mufti will retire in late May after spending 33 years at the bank, according to an internal memo confirmed by a spokesperson. New York-based Mufti will continue in his role until a successor, who has not yet been found, is announced.

FDIC sues 16 banks over Libor

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has sued 16 banks for their alleged role in the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) scandal. The British Bankers’ Association, a London-based industry group which previously oversaw the Libor rate-setting, is also a defendant.

US authorities investigate TeliaSonera

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the US Securities & Exchange Commission have opened investigations of Swedish telecoms company TeliaSonera in connection with bribery allegations. In a statement today, TeliaSonera said both US authorities had sent requests for information concerning its activities in Uzbekistan.

Hyperdynamics faces securities lawsuit

Investors in oil and gas company Hyperdynamics have accused the company and its most senior directors of providing false and misleading information about the company’s FCPA investigation, according to court documents.

Bolivia anti-corruption policeman convicted of extortion in US

A US federal jury in the Northern District of Florida has found Bolivian anti-corruption chief, Mario Fabricio Ormachea Aliaga, guilty of extortion after he tried to get US$30,000 out of fellow Bolivian national and businessman Humberto Roca to make charges disappear.

Hong Kong: UBS failed to report Hibor misconduct

Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority (HKMA) today announced it has concluded its investigations into the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate, a financial benchmark similar to Libor. The agency said UBS traders internally attempted to rig the benchmark, and that the bank failed to report misconduct to the HKMA once it became aware of the alleged attempts – but said the effect of the rigging was “negligible”.