Category: Barclays

UK offshore tax havens at heart of US investigation into World Cup corruption

British Virgin Islands, Caymans and Turks & Caicos feature heavily in justice department indictment of senior football officials British overseas tax havens play a key role in what US authorities have called “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” corruption in the world of football, analysis by the Observer reveals. The 164-page US… – Continue reading

UK banks named in football bribery scandal: Barclays and HSBC ‘handled millions in suspect transactions’

■ Barclays and HSBC have been named in legal papers filed in the US ■ Documents have also named London-based Standard Chartered Bank ■ Allegedly moved suspect transactions linked to Fifa through their accounts ■ Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is understood to be monitoring situation Two of Britain’s biggest High… – Continue reading

Banks’ profits recover, but they are paying less in corporation tax

Research shows corporation tax receipts from banks are lower than before crisis despite global tax payments staying constant Britain’s banks are paying far less in corporation tax to the Exchequer than before the crisis, despite their profits improving and global tax payments staying constant. Research from Cambridge Judge Business School… – Continue reading

Big bucks, but no bankers jailed in $5.7B settlement

Six of the biggest names in global finance shelled out billions of dollars Wednesday to settle charges of rigging currency markets, but liberal lawmakers complain the government is just doling out slaps on the wrist. On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced a settlement that also saw five banks plead guilty… – Continue reading

‘Institutionalised theft’: Barclays’ PFI contracts based on rigged interest rates ‘bleeding NHS & schools dry,’ say activists

Political activists gatecrashed Barclay’s AGM in Central London on Thursday to highlight the role of private finance initiatives (PFI) in “killing off” Britain’s public services, racking up unsustainable debt, dodging tax and funneling profits offshore. Thursday’s demonstration marks the first of three planned days of protest to raise awareness about… – Continue reading

Syndicated loan borrowings abroad fall as companies tap bonds for expansion

MUMBAI: India’s syndicated loan borrowing in overseas markets has collapsed in the January-March quarter as Indian companies have taken the bond route to fund their expansions, and investments are yet to pick up. Loans denominated in US dollar, Japanese yen or euro dropped 75 per cent year-on-year. India G3 syndicated… – Continue reading

Shire share price movement suggests pharmco is better off on its own

Analysts upbeat on the company’s standalone prospects The recent share price performance of Shire Plc (LON:SHP), the London-listed drugmaker left at the altar by US pharma giant AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) last year, suggests that the company will continue to thrive on its own, a view supported by recent analyst comments on… – Continue reading

10 Notorious Tax Cheats: Billionaire Olenicoff Still Battling UBS Over $200 Million Offshore Stash

His softball sentence of two years probation ended five years ago. But billionaire real estate developer Igor Olenicoff still can’t put behind him his December 2007 guilty plea to lying on his federal tax return about some $200 million he kept offshore. For that, he can blame his own litigiousness… – Continue reading

UK multi-agency anti-money laundering drive will give law enforcement better oversight of suspicious accounts, says expert

A recently-announced joint initiative between the government, banks and law enforcement agencies could give those investigating suspected money laundering offences better oversight of suspicious accounts, an expert has said. However, regulatory law expert Anne-Marie Ottaway of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the new intelligence-sharing initiative could… – Continue reading

European Banking Weekly Notes: HSBC, RBS and Barclays

European bank shares showed notable improvements in prices last week, benefiting from hopes of Greece evading a crisis coupled with continued strength in the U.S. dollar. Reports that Germany is looking to adopt a new law that will boost the capital position of the country’s banks helped Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB)… – Continue reading

Axis Bank may step up offshore investment banking as it aims to market bonds globally

MUMBAI: Axis Bank, the country’s third-biggest private sector lender, plans to step up offshore investment banking as it aims to market bonds globally amid rising corporate India’s interest in overseas markets. The bank, which has been topping the league table on bond sales, may also tie up with some international… – Continue reading

EU mergers and takeovers (March 10)

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Reuters) – The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process: APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS — British bank Barclays (LSE: BARC.L – news) to acquire sole control of Spanish insurer CNP Barclays Vida y Pensiones Compania de Seguros,… – Continue reading

No wonder Nick Clegg has gone quiet on tax dodging: His wife’s paid by law firm that helps rich avoid tax and his father is chairman of bank with ties to tax haven

‘His failure to make more noise is odd’ says prominent tax QC His father, Nicholas, has worked for banks operating in tax havens Wife, Miriam Gonzalez Durantez’s, firm advertises ‘tax-planning services’ Lib Dems insist there is no conflict of interest involved in his position Not long ago, a law firm… – Continue reading

We stayed, you didn’t: Post-conflict Africa grapples with tensions of returnees from the diaspora

Although the importance to Africa’s diaspora is largely discussed around remittances, many Africans are also coming back to join the public service. SOMALIA’S parliament just approved a new parliament, a crucial step on the road to voting on a new constitution and presidential elections scheduled for 2016. A key role… – Continue reading

Daily Telegraph provokes fresh outrage over reporting of ‘suicides’ at News UK

Mental health charities and senior journalists took to social media to urge newspapers to think carefully about how they report suicides, after the Daily Telegraph published a story concerning the death of two employees at News UK, the publisher of the Times and the Sun. On Twitter and various online… – Continue reading

Swiss Bank exits FATCA programme

(CNS Business): Barclays Bank’s Swiss operations is ending its cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to prevent investors from investing money in foreign countries with more amenable tax structures and policies. During a Zurich speech, Barclays bank executive Francesco Grosoli announced that the firm’s Swiss operations had “recently exited… – Continue reading

Big banks are giving up on their global ambitions

About 10 years ago Citigroup’s then chief executive Chuck Prince started his global apology tour, aimed at mending relationships with regulators and bolstering Citi’s reputation. Tokyo was the first stop. The US bank had been embroiled in scandals that led to the termination of its Japanese private banking licence. To… – Continue reading

Swiss Bank Drops Out of IRS Tax Compliance Program

Reversing earlier moves taken this summer and fall, a major international bank is ending its cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to prevent investors from investing money in foreign countries with more amenable tax structures and policies, such as Ireland or Switzerland. During a Zurich speech, Barclays bank executive… – Continue reading

GCC Islamic Banks Turn Offshore For Growth

GCC-based Islamic banks are increasingly eyeing international markets Islamic banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations need to expand abroad to maintain their pace of growth in the future, according to Al-Baraka Banking Group, which operates in 15 countries from the Middle East to Asia. “Banks have no alternative,” says… – Continue reading

US accuses Barclays and Deutsche Bank of aiding hedge funds in tax evasion

World banking giants Barclays and Deutsche Bank have been accused by the US of helping more than a dozen hedge funds in tax evasion. Addressing a news conference, US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations chairman Carl Levin said the banks sold complex option products to Renaissance Technology that saved them… – Continue reading

B K Syngal writes that Vodafone tax evasion case and its historical FDI pattern is a classical example of crony capitalism

Much brouhaha has been created by the recent reports about the Vodafone Tax case with respect to whether or not a capital gains tax is due from them on the purchase of assets in India. New lexicon has been created for the uninitiated – “tax avoidance” versus “tax evasion”; “look… – Continue reading