Please Be Informed...

US implements Year 1 100% write down for capital expenditure

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It's a pillar of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) 2017 and it's about to appear in the Federal Register. And it makes the USA very unusual in recognising the realities of depreciation in a disposable world. And then they go and stuff it up.

CoNet Section:

Taxation - Corporate and business

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Five funny product reviews on Lazada.com.my

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Thank you Warhol. Web 2.0 has provided a platform for people to get their (usually less than fifteen minutes) of fame, or at least egotistical self-gratification, at the drop of a finger on a keypad.

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Australia sees surge in offences against Chinese

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Fraud committed against Chinese in Australia has been a problem for a while as criminals use a variety of tactics. It is known, for example, that young foreign Mandarin speakers are recruited abroad to visit Australia for short periods, affecting tourism status, where they follow a script to commit fraud or extortion in a way similar to the boiler-room scams often run by Europeans in South East Asia. This year is is already far worse than the whole of last year.

FCRO Subsection:

Financial Crime News

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Forgive our giggles.. this solicitation is so old hat it's a knotted handkerchief.

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We can barely contain the laughter. This scam e-mail is the same old same old but unlike so many, it's beautifully written. But what's not funny is that Microsoft and Google continue to facilitate fraudulent conduct.

FCRO Subsection:

The Phishermans's Tale

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Claims handlers rejected covered claims.

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This morning, Australia's Medibank has learned that it is being prosecuted after self-reporting its discovery that some of its claims handlers had rejected claims that were both covered and valid, despite already having identified cases and arranged compensation and called for any policyholders who think they may have had claims improperly dismissed to contact the company for assistance.

BIScom Subsection:

Retail Insurance

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National Australia Bank and ASIC - timing is everything.

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Yesterday, it was reported that a former branch manager with National Australia Bank had been convicted of fraud and that other prosecutions were in the pipeline. Today, ASIC, the Australian financial regulator, has said that it has issued proceedings against the bank. Is it a coincidence? One thinks not.

BIScom Subsection:

Regulation

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email spam scam may take in the unaware

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The email below has come to our attention today. using a landing page at mybluemix[dot]com and a (perhaps spoofed) address at the domain masew.ml, the scam has characteristics that instantly give it away to the alert but will trap the unwary.

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Bank manager created fraudulent commission arrangement

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Case Summary:

When a bank introduced a scheme under which persons could receive commissions for introducing potential mortgage borrowers who went on to take out a loan, a bank manager saw the opportunity for secret profits.

Type of conduct:

Bank fraud

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Are coffee shops and pasta a guide to political instability?

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There are three things that provide clear links between Italy and Australia. There are the coffee shops: across much of Australia, the spread of American coffee chains has been stopped in its tracks by the loyalty customers show to to the generations of Italians who have made, for some, Australia the coffee capital of the world.

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Utasan Malaysia in possible reprieve

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Yesterday, we reported that the Board of Malay language newspaper, Utasan Malaysia, had announced its closure with effect from today. This morning, it is reported that they have changed their mind while politicians continue to try to score points off each other over the issue.

CoNet Section:

Media & Publishing

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Malaysia's oldest Malay language newspaper to close tomorrow.

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The style has long been that of an outdated tabloid that can't decide if it's a scandal rag or a teenage magazine. It wasn't either: Utasan Malaysia was an integral part of the publication of news in Malay and has been for more than half a century. But, as with so many publications, it has simply run out of money and cannot continue.

CoNet Section:

Media & Publishing

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UK Accountant jailed for money laundering.

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UK's HMRC secure conviction against PPI claims lead generator

David Buckley, 51, a company director of Basingstoke in England instructed Mahmood Sadiq Poptani, 60, an accountant of Swansea in Wales and together they diverted money collected on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs in respect of income tax and National Insurance deductions from the salaries of staff and value added tax. They are now in jail.

FCRO Subsection:

Financial Crime News

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Criminals using spoofed telephone numbers get brazen

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It's remarkably easy to spoof telephone numbers i.e. to make any number one chooses to show up in the caller ID of the recipient's phone. So if a criminal is going to do that, why not choose someone special?

CoNet Section:

IT & Communications

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UK freezes GBP100 million suspected proceeds of foreign corruption

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The NCA has been granted freezing orders on eight bank accounts containing a total of more than GBP100 million, which is suspected to have derived from bribery and corruption in an overseas nation.

FCRO Subsection:

Bribery and Corruption

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