Three news to start your week: March 11
Trial begins in Vietnam's largest, multi-billion-dollar financial fraud
(Reuters)
The trial for Vietnam's most significant financial fraud case ever started on Tuesday. Around 90 defendants are accused of participating in a $12 billion scam. Some of them could face the death penalty.
The trial is at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City and is expected to last until the end of April. It is part of a larger campaign against corruption in the country. Nguyen Phu Trong, the leader of the ruling Communist Party, has promised to combat corruption but has not delivered any tangible results yet.
The crackdown on corruption has led to many vital arrests and the resignation of top officials. The trial of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group's chairwoman is massive, with thousands of people and around 200 lawyers involved. Truong My Lan, a real estate tycoon, and her associates are accused of embezzling 304 trillion dong ($12.46 billion) from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), which Lan effectively controlled through dozens of proxies.
Ex-Venezuelan military major admits to role in $1.7M fraud involving corruption
(Local 10)
According to US prosecutors, a former major in the Venezuelan National Guard posed as someone involved in financing food imports when, in reality, he was part of a $1.7 million fraud. The Drug Enforcement Administration is currently investigating the fraud, which allegedly involved Nepmar Escalona, a Venezuelan resident of Fort Lauderdale.
Federal prosecutors stated that the scheme consisted of submitting fraudulent applications to the Venezuelan currency regulation authority and bribing Venezuelan officials. As per the prosecutors, Banesco Bank, the Central Bank of Venezuela, and Venezuelan customs authorities released US dollars to Escalona, 47, and his accomplices.
Prosecutors assert that Escalona confessed to sending the proceeds from the fraudulent wire transfers and funds constituting bribes to financial institutions in the US.
Apple fined €1.8bn for breaking EU law over music streaming
(Financial Times)
Brussels has fined Apple more than €1.8bn for stifling competition from rival music streaming services, marking the first time the iPhone maker has been penalized for breaching EU law.
Margrethe Vestager, the bloc's competition chief, stated that the tech giant had violated EU antitrust rules for a decade by limiting developers' ability to inform consumers about alternative and more affordable music services outside the Apple ecosystem. This was viewed as abusing the group's dominant position for music streaming on its App Store.
In response, Apple announced it would appeal against the decision, indicating a protracted legal battle in EU courts. The company's shares experienced a decline of about 2.5 percent in morning trading.
The commission highlighted that it had departed from its standard fining procedure to deliver a deterrent for Apple and other "companies of a similar size and with similar resources."
