Fifa president Sepp Blatter resists calls to resign May 28, 2015 Fifa President Sepp Blatter has rejected calls to resign amid the worst crisis in the global governing body's 111-year history. Michel Platini, head of Europe's football governing body Uefa, said he had told Blatter to go "with tears in my eyes", but he had refused. "I said, 'I'm asking you to leave, Fifa's image is [...]
Banks clobbered by $6bn forex-rigging fine but share prices rise as penalties less severe than expected May 20, 2015 Six of the world’s biggest banks were punished with a mega $5.7bn (£3.7bn) fine by financial watchdogs yesterday after foreign currency traders were found to have rigged prices to rip off customers. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Swiss giant UBS and three US banks – JP Morgan Chase, Citi and Bank of America – [...]
The flash crash trader Navinder Singh Sarao returns to London cell ahead of extradition fight April 29, 2015 The legal team of flash crash trader Navinder Singh Sarao is aiming to appoint a QC to work on his upcoming extradition case, a member of his legal team said at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Richard Egan, partner at Tuckers Solicitors, said yesterday that while a junior barrister is currently dealing with the case [...]
Inside Wandsworth prison April 29, 2015 Inmates at Wandsworth Prison typically wake at 7.45am, have breakfast, then spend the remainder of the day in their cells, save for a lunch break at 12.45pm and an evening meal at 4.45pm. A lucky minority of prisoners will have a job to do, however most have little to occupy their time. The south London [...]
EU reform: Dear Donald – the full text of David Cameron’s EU renegotiation letter to Donald Tusk November 10, 2015 David Cameron has finally outlined his plans for EU renegotiation to European Council president Donald Tusk. But what did he actually ask for? The full thing comes in at a weighty 2,000 words across six pages. The letter suggests the pair are on first-name terms – beginning with "Dear Donald" and ending with a simple [...]
HSBC “not protected” from criminal investigation by DoJ money laundering deal, says prospective attorney general Loretta Lynch February 11, 2015 HSBC could face prosecution by the US's Department of Justice, as it comes under renewed pressure over the actions of its Swiss subsidiary. Loretta Lynch, Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general, was part of a team that secured nearly $2bn (£1.3bn) from HSBC over charges that it refused to prevent money laundering by drug [...]
British trader Navinder Singh Sarao arrested and charged over 2010 “flash crash” April 21, 2015 A British trader has been arrested for his alleged role in causing the May 2010 "flash crash" which wiped billions off the value of US stocks and caused indexes to plunge. Navinder Singh Sarao has been charged by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with manipulating the markets and making $40m (26.7m) in the [...]
Train companies told to stop treating commuters like “criminals” February 3, 2015 Train groups have been called upon to stop treating passengers like “criminals” as they attempt to catch fare dodgers. The industry has been accused of treating commuters as guilty until proven innocent, using harsh penalties beyond reasonable need. Campaigning group Passenger Focus said today it was calling on operators to “play fair” with passengers [...]
Nick Clegg almost gets it right on drug policy August 31, 2014 Earlier this month, speaking to The Sun newspaper, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg made a bold statement on Britain's drug policy: "At the moment, we are doing an utterly senseless thing — chucking the people who need treatment behind bars so they simply become even more vulnerable to the criminal gangs who exploited them in [...]
Student movement launches global campaign to end the war on drugs September 2, 2014 Students for Liberty (SFL), the world's largest libertarian student organisation, has launched a campaign highlighting the failure of the war on drugs. Over the course of this month, the organisation will release videos, infographics and other materials in 18 different languages throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Africa arguing that the prohibition of drugs [...]