Fraud

Toyota’s chair is driving with ‘L’ plates back on

19 Jun 2024

The tally of votes against reelecting Akio Toyoda almost doubled this year to 27% following months of governance scandals. It’s a strong rebuke for any board leader but especially so in traditionally consensus-driven Japan. Toyoda now has to show he can learn from past mistakes.

PwC Evergrande hit will ricochet around China Inc

5 Jun 2024

The auditor may be fined $138 mln and suspended from working in some cities for its role in the property giant’s scandal. Rivals may benefit. But with President Xi pushing regulators to operate "with teeth and thorns”, such a decision will be a warning to all financial middlemen.

Toyota is driving a dangerously fine line

4 Jun 2024

The world's largest automaker shed some $8 bln of market value after revealing problems in testing procedures. It's not all bad, but it adds to a heap of governance gripes ahead of this month's AGM. And probes may yet uncover more. Chair Akio Toyoda looks particularly exposed.

Toyota investors can give chair a year for tune-up

29 May 2024

Proxy advisers Glass Lewis and ISS want shareholders not to re-elect Akio Toyoda atop the $300 bln automaker’s board. There’s logic to it. But the former CEO has pledged to address governance problems at subsidiaries. If he doesn’t, it makes a stronger case for booting him out.

AI hype will be hard to puncture

20 Mar 2024

Short-seller Hindenburg is attacking $80 bln Equinix, whose data-center investments have been pumped up by artificial-intelligence exuberance. US regulators are also starting to target some of the hot air. Even so, the valuation bubble is more likely to deflate slowly than pop.

ADM accounting mess highlights risky exec comp

23 Jan 2024

The grain trader’s shares fell 24% after suspending its CFO amid an accounting investigation. One segment generating only 10% of profit determined a big chunk of executive bonuses. Whatever emerges, putting so much weight on small shifts in results invites problems.

Carta gives startups an unwanted SVB refresher

10 Jan 2024

Growth companies closely guard details of their investor base, so the misuse of such data by a16z-backed Carta is a big blow. Startups may conclude that vital functions are best entrusted to bigger, more regulated firms. It’s not the first time they have received that warning.

SBF’s guilty verdict will help crypto break free

3 Nov 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crimes worsened a rout that wiped trillions of dollars in value from digital assets. The FTX founder’s conviction suggests that, even in crypto, bad actors will be held to account. That could help rebuild trust in the idea of a trustless financial system.

Jho Low could create a new world of 1MDB pain

8 Aug 2023

The fugitive at the centre of Malaysia’s sovereign fund scandal, is in China. In this Exchange podcast Billion Dollar Whale co-author Bradley Hope explains why Beijing may soon give him up and how his return could be difficult for all involved, from global banks to celebrities.

Jho Low could rip scabs off 1MDB wounds

21 Apr 2023

The man at the centre of the sovereign fund scandal could be returned to Malaysia via a deal with China, a respected journalist says. It’s the final piece of the puzzle but given what Low knows, it would be a moment of public cheer and private fear for politicians and bankers.

Gautam Adani’s crisis will hit India hard

2 Feb 2023

The Indian magnate’s sprawling empire has lost over $100 bln of market value after a short-seller made accusations of fraud. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why the situation will narrow Adani’s financing options, limiting his infrastructure ambitions.

BMW’s Chinese partner woes are a warning to rivals

8 Sep 2022

The German carmaker’s local counterpart said its indebted state-backed parent siphoned $1.6 bln in funds. Fortunately BMW just took control of the joint venture and looks insulated. For foreign peers mulling similar moves, the scandal sends a message: hurry up or hurry out.

Long arm of China law reaches today from Tomorrow

22 Aug 2022

Xiao Jianhua, the man behind the dismembered investment colossus, has been convicted of graft and illegal use of funds five years after he was snatched from Hong Kong. His fate is a timely reminder that Beijing is determined to show that no company or person is too big to fail.

Wirecard exposed finance’s scary credulity

17 Jun 2022

The payments group collapsed in 2020 after admitting $2 bln of its cash was fake. “Money Men”, a book by the FT journalist who uncovered the scandal, describes a chaotic and unsophisticated fraud. All the more shocking that analysts, advisers, auditors and regulators were fooled.

Allianz’s U.S. wound is not entirely staunched

17 May 2022

Europe’s largest insurer has effectively been kicked out of the U.S. market after admitting fraud and being forced to pay $6 bln in fines and compensation. CEO Oliver Baete will hope these body blows enable closure. But the fiasco raises questions about the rest of the business.

French investors are collateral damage in EY spat

24 May 2021

Paris-listed Solutions 30 published its 2020 annual report even though the audit firm didn’t sign off its accounts. Post Wirecard, it’s encouraging that auditors are taking a tougher stance. But with lenders potentially pulling credit, it leaves shareholders in a painful limbo.

Capital Calls: SXSW

19 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: Rolling Stone publisher Penske Media is taking a 50% stake in hipster arts festival South By Southwest.

Hong Kong SPAC deal reeks of desperation

11 Dec 2020

Marquee names from Joseph Perella to Shaquille O’Neal have lent some legitimacy to the recent spate of shell companies. One near its expiry date trying to buy parts of scandal-ridden financial outfit Convoy strips away the veneer. It’s a good reminder to be wary of such M&A.

Gary Cohn channels Goldman minus self-awareness

2 Dec 2020

The ex-COO is sitting on $10 mln the Wall Street firm wants back as a rap for its 1MDB scandal. Even if he’s on safe legal ground it doesn’t look good for him or for Goldman, which calls its staff “culture carriers.” Cohn’s former employer at least knows when a gesture is needed.

Goldman’s clawback is small but pointy

22 Oct 2020

CEO David Solomon and others will forfeit $174 mln of bonus payments to resolve the 1MDB bribery scandal. But there’s a question mark over former COO Gary Cohn, who cashed in when he went into politics in 2017. That career change shouldn't shield anyone from past sins.