Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings (SOHL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Schlumberger Ltd (Schlumberger), the world’s largest oil-field services company, has entered into a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle allegations of violating US sanctions in Iran and Sudan.Under the plea arrangement, which is subject to approval by the courts, SOHL will […]

One of the most significant fines of 2014 was the fine imposed on Invesco Perpetual in April 2014 of over £18 million for breaches of Principles 3 and 7. The FCA found that it had failed to take reasonable care to ensure that the systems and controls that it put in place around the front […]

Commerzbank AG has agreed to pay a total of $1.45 billion in penalties to state and federal authorities to settle violations of sanctions imposed on countries such as Iran and Sudan by the United States. Commerzbank was accused of moving $263 million through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Iranian and Sudanese entities, and […]

In a landmark decision released on 10 February, 2015, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) announced that Qualcomm, the US chip manufacturer, had been fined RMB 6.08 billion (approximately US$ 975 million) for abuse of market dominance, including unfair licencing practices. The record fine, which is the largest on record in China, follows […]

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority pursued less than half as many investigations to the disciplinary phase last year as the agency focused on larger cases, a regulatory study found. The FCA sent 21 cases to the Regulatory Decisions Committee, which has to approve whether an FCA investigation can proceed to a disciplinary action, through November, […]

The FCA has banned and fined two former senior executives of Martin Brokers (Martins) a total of £315,000 for compliance and cultural failings which facilitated the firm’s misconduct in respect of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). David Caplin, Martins’ former chief executive, was fined £630,000 in 2014 for attempted manipulation of LIBOR Jeremy Kraft, […]

Linked to an announcement of settlements with a number of firms the European Commission has fined ICAP, a UK based inter-dealer broker, €14.9 million for participating in cartels in relation to Yen interest rate derivatives. The Commission found that ICAP acted as a communications channel between two traders, using its contacts at Japanese Yen London […]

British prosecutors are investigating whether subsidiaries of Alstom, the French power and transport company at the centre of an international corruption inquiry, committed offences in Hungary, a London court heard on Wednesday. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has already charged two UK-based Alstom subsidiaries and four former employees with corruption, alleging they disguised bribes as […]