MAGAZINE
February 2015 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Rehabilitating the UK’s banking sector
Less than two years ago, Anthony Jenkins, the chief executive of Barclays Bank PLC, acknowledged that his firm had behaved irresponsibly in the past and was on the long road to rehabilitation. It was an admission of wrongdoing from one the UK banking sector’s powerhouses...
FEATURES
Given the impact of the financial crisis, it’s understandable that the level of investment into US real estate plummeted considerably, as it did in real estate markets the world over. However, the real estate sector is now enjoying...
China’s economic growth has been one of the key developments of recent years. However, while the speed of the country’s economic revolution has been breathtaking, recently it has begun to slow. Partly as a result, attention in Beijing has turned to the country’s...
Pariah to player: investing in the new Iran
Once a country has been labelled a pariah state, rightly or wrongly, the tag can be difficult to shed. With little scope for contradiction, most people would readily assign this description to Iran – a nation that has been demonstrably lacking...
India: a sleeping economic giant gets set to reawaken
Since Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won an overwhelming majority in India’s elections in May 2014, the country, as well as the international community, has been awaiting the first signs that the new prime minister is turning his pre-election, pro-growth...
Superpowered stagnation: what next for the Russian economy?
Mother Russia is, and always has been, a proud and dignified land. However, the national mood is currently none too happy. For the sixth largest economy in the world, 2014 was a particularly sombre year in the history of a nation that has experienced plenty of turmoil...
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Ian Brimicombe, AstraZeneca PLC; Richard Fletcher, Baker & McKenzie; Luis Carrillo, Bureau van Dijk; Michelle Johnson, Duff & Phelps LLC; Ruth Steedman, FTI Consulting, Inc.; Todd E. Behrend, Ryan, LLC; Fabio Gaspar, Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda.; and Michael Barbour, Group Tax Westpac.
The transfer pricing environment has undergone significant change over the past 12 months. High-profile developments, such as the introduction of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) base erosion and profit shifting...
SPECIAL REPORT
Despite the robust anti-corruption action being taken by global authorities, corporate fraud and corruption remain an increasingly pervasive worldwide threat. The perpetrators of fraud and corruption now target an ever-widening playing field...
FORUM: Anti-corruption and bribery developments in Latin America
FW moderates a discussion on anti-corruption and bribery developments in Latin America between Roberto Hernández-García at COMAD, S.C., Mauricio Almar at Halliburton, Isabel Franco at KLA-Koury Lopes Advogados, Ivan E. Velez at KPMG LLP, and Patrick Henz at Primetals Technologies.
Global profiles of the fraudster
KPMG LLP Having conducted numerous fraud investigations we are amazed at how often we hear “John? John did that? He was the last person I would have suspected.” Regrettably that is quite often the point. Fraud investigation specialists have long debated whether...
With a smile not a gun: understanding human factors in fraud forecasting
Dolus Counter-Fraud Advisors LLC At her sentencing hearing in Manhattan, Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff’s former secretary, stood weeping before Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain. “I never figured out the truth,” she said. “I did what I was told. I didn’t know what was going on.” Handing down a prison...
The long-arm of US anti-bribery and corruption laws – are you subject to US jurisdiction?
Corrs Chambers Westgarth It was widely announced on 22 December 2014 that French power and transportation conglomerate Alstom SA had agreed to plead guilty to violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition, four corporate executives of Alstom have been charged...
Implications of heightened judicial supervision of corporate criminal settlements
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Corporations facing law enforcement investigations in the US increasingly have found that the successful negotiation of a settlement agreement with the prosecutors is no longer the final step to achieving resolution. Rather, federal judges – whose involvement in the...
Insolvency-related fraud in Argentina
Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal In Argentina, insolvency is governed by Law No. 24,522, as amended (the Argentine Bankruptcy Law or ABL). Insolvency-related fraud in Argentina is generally related to: (i) schemes for excluding debtor’s assets from the estate or affecting secured creditor’s security interest...
Employees’ fraud via a fly-by-night company in Russia
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer This article concerns ways to protect a company’s interests in case of employee fraud via a fly-by-night company, which is quite typical for Russian business. Consider the following scenario: some chief employees of a company (Company) create a new company...
Bribery and corruption in New Zealand
Bell Gully New Zealand is widely regarded as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. Notwithstanding that reputation, there is increasing evidence of corrupt conduct. We summarise here some of the potential criminal and civil consequences of engaging in such...
Fraud at the workplace – key issues affecting employers in Malaysia
Shearn Delamore & Co. There are countless fraudulent activities and corrupt practices which can take place within an organisation, from simply falsifying a medical certificate to giving potential bidders inside knowledge of proposals from others. Such activities are no longer confined nor limited to...
Q&A: Managing fraud and bribery risks in the healthcare sector
FW moderates a discussion on managing fraud and bribery risks in the healthcare sector between Wendy C. Goldstein at Cooley LLP, Brian G. Flood at Husch Blackwell LLP, Omid Yazdi at KPMG LLP, and Michael K. Loucks at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Repsol to acquire Talisman for $13bn
Spanish oil and gas company Repsol has agreed a deal with Canada’s Talisman Energy to acquire 100 percent of the Canadian company’s shares for US$8.3bn (€6.64bn), as well as assumed debt of US$4.7bn. The deal, which is the largest...
Cubist Pharma sold in $9.5bn deal
Rounding off a bumper year for mergers and acquisition activity in 2014, US biotech firm Merck & Co announced in December that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire drug manufacturer Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. The transaction will see Merck gaining...
private equity & venture capital
In December, a group of investors led by private equity (PE) firm BC Partners agreed to acquire pet supply retailer PetSmart in a deal worth $8.7bn. The deal was struck following a competitive auction process which saw a number of PE groups expressing an interest in the...
Blackstone Group sells property portfolio for $3.5bn
In December 2014, American multinational private equity firm the Blackstone Group agreed to sell its portfolio of Northern California office buildings to Los Angeles-based real estate investment trust Hudson Pacific Properties for $3.5bn. For Blackstone, the sale is the latest...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
ABI recommends Chapter 11 reform
Following a three-year study of the potential for US bankruptcy code reform, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) has concluded that the existing Chapter 11 process is “is out of date, too expensive and needs an overhaul.” Conducted by a committee made up of 22 leading...
LightSquared files plan to exit Chapter 11
Wireless venture company LightSquared has filed a restructuring plan with the US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy under the control of its biggest lender, Dish Network Corp. The company originally filed for Chapter 11...
LEGAL®ulatory
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Herbert Smith Freehills New York LLP In US civil litigation, a party has a duty to preserve its documents and data, including electronically stored information (ESI) such as email, which are potentially relevant to a pending or reasonably anticipated lawsuit. The historically broad scope of civil...
Evolving trends in litigation funding
Redress Solutions PLC Third party litigation funding continues to grow and evolve. The basic business model – funding of all legal and other ancillary costs related to a claim in exchange for a share of the damages if the claim is successfully resolved – has withstood the test of time and...
Third-party funders come to the aid of management
Woodsford Litigation Funding What is litigation funding? Litigation funding is the financing by one party of litigation brought by another in return for a percentage of any benefits received by the litigant. Litigation funding is generally seen as a means whereby a party without the financial resources...
CONTRIBUTORS
AstraZeneca PLC
Baker & McKenzie
Bell Gully
Bureau van Dijk
COMAD, S.C.
Cooley LLP
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Dolus Counter-Fraud Advisors LLC
Duff & Phelps LLC
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
FTI Consulting, Inc.
Herbert Smith Freehills New York LLP
Husch Blackwell LLP
KLA-Koury Lopes Advogados
KPMG LLP
Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal
Primetals Technologies
Redress Solutions PLC
Ryan, LLC
Shearn Delamore & Co.
Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Westpac
Woodsford Litigation Funding