bribery
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Man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones sentenced to 12 years in prison
The scheme cost the company $201.5 million, according to the Department of Justice.
Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee is going back to jail for bribery
Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee has been sentenced to 2.5 years of prison over bribery charges, wrapping up a court battle that started four years ago.
Six people face charges for allegedly bribing Amazon staff to help sellers
Six people have been indicted over an alleged scheme that bribed Amazon employees to help third-party sellers.
Disgraced Samsung heir likely won't give company control to his children
Jay Y. Lee wants to end the controversy regarding succession of managerial rights at Samsung.
US is reportedly investigating ZTE over new bribery allegations
Just when it seemed that Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE was in the clear, it is once again being investigated by the Justice Department. In March 2017, ZTE agreed to pay $1.19 billion and submit to a three-year probation period as punishment for violating US trade sanctions with Iran and North Korea. That probation period ended Saturday, and now, the Justice Department is reportedly looking into new and separate bribery allegations, sources tell NBC News.
DOJ stops investigating Uber for foreign bribery
The Department of Justice has dropped an investigation into Uber over alleged foreign bribes. The agency said in an SEC filing it "will not be pursuing enforcement action."
Ericsson will pay over $1 billion to settle US corruption charges
Tech companies have been caught in corruption scandals before, but seldom on this scale. Telecom giant Ericsson has settled with the US Justice Department and SEC for just under $1.1 billion over charges of extensive corruption in several countries, including China, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. The company had been accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act between 2000 and 2016 by bribing officials to land customers, falsifying its records and failing to use "reasonable" accounting controls. The SEC, meanwhile, charged Ericsson with bribery that took place between 2011 and 2017.
Man charged with bribing AT&T staff to illegally unlock phones
There's no question that there's a market for unlocked phones, but one man may have been too eager to profit from that demand. The US has charged Pakistani citizen Muhammad Fahd with bribing staff at AT&T's call center in Bothell, Washington to disable the carrier's locking software and illegally unlock phones before they're eligible. Fahd reportedly had workers insert malware and "otherwise misuse" AT&T's networks between 2012 and 2017, paying one insider $428,500 over the five-year period and even having some bribes delivered in person.
Microsoft will pay $25 million to settle Hungary bribery charges
Microsoft is on the hook at home for alleged crimes abroad. The company has agreed to pay about $25 million in settlements with both the Justice Department and SEC over charges that its Hungary subsidiary violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The division allegedly discounted prices for its resellers and distributors between 2013 and 2015, using the increased profit margins to fund bribes for government officials and clinch lucrative software deals with Microsoft.
Amazon looks into reports of staff leaking data to merchants
Bribery in tech companies or in their supply chains is nothing new (there are numerous stories of factory workers leaking unannounced products), but Amazon is grappling with some particularly serious concerns. The company has confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that it's investigating reports of employees in the US and China leaking data to merchants on the site in return for bribes. The shady resellers have paid as much as $2,000 to obtain internal sales data and reviewers' email addresses (to persuade them to alter or remove harsh reviews). In some cases, the merchants have paid Amazon employees to delete negative reviews outright.
Feds investigate Microsoft for alleged bribery in Hungary
U.S. authorities are investigating Microsoft for potential bribery and corruption in software sales in Hungary, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2013 and 2014, Microsoft allegedly sold software such as Word and Excel at a steep discount to middleman companies, which then sold the same products to the Hungarian government at a much higher price. The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are trying to figure out if the difference between the two prices were used as government kickbacks. It is illegal under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for businesses to engage in corporate bribery and corruption overseas.
Uber launches internal probe on Asia bribery allegations
Among its many other problems, Uber is facing a federal probe to look into allegations that it broke foreign bribery laws. To figure out what happened exactly and to cooperate with the DOJ, the ride-hailing firm recently launched its own investigation focusing on the activities of local offices in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. According to Bloomberg, Uber at least knew what happened in Jakarta from the start, but one of its senior members decided not to disclose it to authorities.
Samsung-linked scandal takes down South Korea's president
The same scandal behind the arrest and indictment of Samsung exec and heir Lee Jae-yong has resulted in the removal of South Korean president Park Geun-Hye. Parliament impeached Park on December 9th over charges including bribery and corruption for allegedly trying to squeeze money out of large companies in return for favors. Today's unanimous court decision by eight judges ends the 92-day leadership crisis (the country's prime minister had assumed her duties) and triggers the process for a new election to take place within 60 days.
Samsung leader will be indicted for bribery and embezzlement
Following his arrest, Samsung Vice-Chairman Lee Jae-yong will be indicted on charges of bribery, embezzlement and two other crimes, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. It's the start of legal proceedings that could put Lee in jail for years, stalling a planned succession due to his father's heart attack and hospitalization. Four other executives were charged, including Corporate Strategy Office Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-ki.
Samsung to change donation policies amid bribery scandal
In the last six months, Samsung has been no stranger to scandal. Since September, it's hurriedly dealt with the fallout from its Galaxy Note 7 recall, and in recent weeks has been thrust into an investigation over bribery claims involving some of its top executives. After staying mostly silent on the South Korean monetary probe, the electronics giant today issued a statement outlining steps to stop it from finding itself in similar position in the future.
Samsung's South Korean leader has been arrested for bribery
That took a little longer than expected. Samsung's vice chairman Lee Jae-yong (better known as Jay Y. Lee) has been arrested over charges of bribery, according to Bloomberg. In early January a court had yet to approve the warrant.
Samsung boss won't face arrest, at least for now
Samsung just dodged a bullet... for a while, anyway. A South Korean court has dismissed a warrant to arrest the company's Vice Chairman and de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, in an investigation alleging that Samsung paid the President's scandal-ridden confidant to illegally secure approval for a merger. There's just not enough evidence to suggest that an arrest is needed, according to the judge. While this doesn't guarantee that Lee is completely off the hook, he won't have to worry about jail time in the foreseeable future.
Samsung leader faces arrest in South Korea
Samsung's past several months have been pretty lousy, but they're about to get much, much worse. South Korean prosecutors have announced that they're seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee), the electronics giant's effective leader, over accusations of bribery and other misdeeds. Investigators allege that Lee was involved in payments made to Choi Soon-sil, an ally of the country's impeached President with cultish control, in a supposed bid to clinch approval for a merger.
Samsung boss is a suspect in a South Korean political scandal
South Korea is currently embroiled in a massive corruption scandal: President Park Geun-hye is facing impeachment after word broke that her 'friend,' Choi Soon-sil, had cult-like control over Park that included access to sensitive info and forced donations to Choi's foundations. And now, it looks like Samsung's highest leadership might be caught up in the whole affair. The country's special prosecutor's office has named effective Samsung leader Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee) as a suspect in a case alleging that Samsung illegally influenced government decisions. Investigators are worried that roughly $25 million in payments to a Choi business and foundations may have convinced the national pension fund to support a merger of two Samsung affiliate companies. It may have offered bribes, in other words.
The Soapbox: Six reasons MMOs should abandon raiding, part 2
In yesterday's Soapbox, I had some things to say about why it's time to dump raiding. I'm writing this before I've seen the comment responses, but I'm willing to bet that a fair amount of angry shouting was involved in the comments because that's what I usually expect. But I wasn't done, as suggested by the whole "part 1" thing in the title header. For those don't feel like reading the whole thing, the short version is that raiding is too expensive to develop for too small a portion of the players. This is a solid argument, but it's standard: You hear it every time this debate comes up. In some ways, it's the foundation of the argument against raiding beyond the reality that most people say they just don't like raiding. There's more to be said, though, and there are more serious issues up for discussion. Raiding isn't just expensive in terms of development. It's expensive in lots of ways.
