Bribery and Corruption
Brazil's Hypermarcas sinks as former executive admits bribery
Hypermarcas SA, Brazil's biggest producer of generic drugs, saw its shares fall following reports that Nelson Mello, a former senior executive, admitted paying 30 million reais ($8.85 million) in bribes to ruling coalition politicians.
It is understood that the company is not currently the target of an investigation.
Reuters, 28 June 2016
Fraud
LIBOR traders and submitters found guilty
Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant and Alex Pabon have been convicted by a jury of conspiracy to defraud following an 11 week trial.
The three former employees of Barclays were accused of manipulating US Dollar Libor between June 2005 and September 2007. The jury were not able to reach a verdict in relation to the other two defendants, Stylianos Contogoulas and Ryan Reich.
The SFO has since announced that it will seek a re-trial of Mr Contogoulas and Mr Reich.
Mr Mathew, Mr Merchant and Mr Pabon were sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison following their convictions. Mr Peter Johnson, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in October 2014, was sentenced to four years in prison.
SFO, 4-7 July 2016
Israeli Businessman Nochi Dankner Convicted of Securities Fraud
Nochi Danker, once one of Israel's most powerful tycoons was found guilty of manipulating company share price by a Tel Aviv court.
The former controlling shareholder of IDB Holding Corp., Mr Dankner was charged with improperly influencing IDB’s share price days before a planned securities issuance in February 2012, according to an e-mailed statement from the Tel Aviv District Economic Court.
Bloomberg, 4 July 2016
Health and Safety
£90,000 fine for safety failings
A coach company in Wrexham has been fined £90,000 after it repeatedly failed to comply with legal notices to get its lifting equipment examined.
Between 4 April 2014 and 28 August 2015, GHA Coaches Limited failed to have its lifting equipment properly examined within the required timescales to ensure that health and safety conditions were maintained and that any defects could be detected and remedied in good time.
In 2015, an inspection revealed overdue Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) examinations on at least 14 items. An improvement notice was served, and extended twice, and still resulted in a failure to comply.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a previous improvement notice was served in 2011.
GHA Coaches Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(3)(a)(ii) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), and failing to comply with an Improvement Notice, and was fined a total of £90,000 with costs of £3,068.
Shponline, 29 June 2016
Avoidable death occurred due to “series of safety errors”
Two companies based in Northamptonshire have been fined after a worker died following a fall through a roof.
Peter Smith, 58, died while working on a contract to replace the old asbestos roof of a foods factory on 9 August 2013. Smith fell eight metres through a fragile skylight and died at the scene.
Mr Smith was an employee of A-Lift Crane Hire Limited, who had been hired by Premier Roofing Systems Limited to provide them with a crane to lift roofing sheets onto the factory roof.
An investigation by the HSE into the incident found that preventative measures to allow operatives to work safely on the roof were not put in place. The investigation revealed that a set of Yeoman boards needed to create a safe working platform on the roof were not installed prior to the job commencing.
Premier Roofing Systems Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £140,250 and ordered to pay costs of £41,428.
A-Lift Crane Hire Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £83,300 and ordered to pay costs of £21,500.
Shponline, 1 July 2016
£200,000 fine following West Coast steam train ‘near miss’
Train operator West Coast Railway Company Limited (WCRC) has been fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £64,000 after being prosecuted by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for breaches of health and safety laws which led to a train passing a signal at danger near Wootton Bassett on 7 March 2015.
ORR inspectors found significant failings in WCRC’s managerial controls. The company had not implemented appropriate procedures, training or monitoring of staff to stop intentional misuse of the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) equipment.
ORR’s evidence showed the train’s driver, Melvyn Cox, instructed a colleague to turn off this essential safety system, designed to automatically apply an emergency brake.
Cox received a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and has been ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work.
Shponline, 4 July 2016
Elderly care home resident died of scalding injuries, court hears
European Healthcare Group Plce, a care home company based in Middlesex, was fined £100,000 after pleading guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in relation to the dealth of an elderly resident of a Surrey home from scalding injuries.
An HSE investigation found that the bathroom taps were not adjusted to limit the temperature of the water to a safe level for bathing and showering. The HSE’s investigation further found that while the company had policies and procedures in place they were inadequate and the company failed to effectively communicate information and instruction to its staff so that the control measures could be implemented effectively.
Shponline, 5 July 2016
Sanctions
UK Parliamentary committee publishes report on Russia sanctions
In its report “Russia: Implications for UK defence and security”, the House of Commons Defence Committee called on the UK government “to consider extending travel bans to a larger portion of the Russian leadership” and agreed with the decision to renew the EU’s current sanctions on Russia until January 2017.
House of Commons Defence Committee Report, 5 July 2016
