When Australia took action against an internet scammer for sending out notices relating to domains (see here) the effect on those committing similar frauds was... zero.
After Carlill v The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company (in 1892), possibly the most famous court case in the world is Roe -v- Wade (1973) which has been a constant battleground in the US, the Senate and the Courts for decades. The latest Supreme Court case does not directly affect that case but might have even greater consequences because while everyone is focussing on the abortion element of National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, the case was actually about something very different and that's how the US Supreme Court decided it.
One can say many things about the EU but here are two: one it really, really does not understand the internet and how companies operate within it and two it really, really likes simplistic and brutal solutions to complex problems. Perhaps the two things are the same. Article 11 of the Copyright Directive, which a European Committee (the usual handful of grey men in grey suits that were so much a reason for Brexit) has just passed is a perfect example of both. The grey men in grey suits are different depending on the topic. The result is the same: they set law which is rarely subjected to effective review later in the legislative...
A group of fraudsters set up a fake law firm to defraud insurance companies in so-called "cash-for-crash" claims. One of the insurance companies they victimised has obtained an order for exemplary damages in a civil court in a fascinating cross-over between civil and criminal jurisdictions.
E-mail inboxes have long been plagued with dubious offers to renew domain names or to buy similar names to prevent cybersquatters taking control of them or even for entries into some kind of directory. It's a nuisance but, so far, the perpetrators of the actions have avoided prosecution by a range of sneaky tactics. Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has obtained orders (not convictions) against two companies and a disqualification order against their principle officer.
Who remembers the dark web, that place where, if you could work out how to access it, you could buy false identification, illicit drugs (or licit drugs on an illicit basis) and even rent a hit man? Welcome, charlselwatson@gmail.com, not only don't you use the dark web, you even promote your services via a public bulletin board.
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has this morning issued a warning about kidnap and ransom threats made against, in particular, Chinese residents in Australia with more than 1,700 cases reported so far in 2018.
In the wider world of financial services, there's a tendency to forget that there are regulators for other areas of commerce, too. In the UK, in accounting, the last stop for action relating to accounting and audit misconduct is the Financial Reporting Council. It's one of those bodies that replaces gravitas with slogans on its website (which is "flashy" but doesn't work properly) but when it gets its teeth into a case, it acts as a proper regulator. It levies only small fines but it's paying more and more attention to the big boys.
In Malaysia, one of the successes of former Prime Minister Najib is something he won't get credit for - and something which is so ironic that it's almost hypocritical. But it's very, very welcome anyway.
There's a huge amount of excitement in Australia about the prosecution of several bankers for colluding in a share support scheme where a share issue did not fully sell out. Instead of being charged with market manipulation, itself a serious offence, federal prosecutors have taken the alternative of charging them with cartel offences. There's a lot of people spinning like tops, having panic attacks about what it means for investment banking and the professional support services like lawyers and accountants that are a central part of all public offers. But there is nothing complex about the fundamentals of the case.
This is an exclusive notification from the District Court of Basel-Stadt (Strafgericht des Kantons Basel-Stadt).
We regret to inform you that your identity has been compromised in an identity theft scheme recently uncovered here in Switzerland."
It's the fault of Hollywood and TV producers everywhere, with a bit of help from the tabloids and the over-excitement of both American politicians and law enforcement: as soon as someone mentions "cartel," thoughts jump to major drugs gangs. It's the same problem that led to a survey result in the UK where children thought the emergency telephone number is 911 (it's 999 and there are also European standard numbers that start with a 1 but no one can be bothered to remember them). In the vast majority of cases, the word "cartel" doesn't relate to drugs gangs at all. In relation to the way people conduct business by means of illegal collusion. That might not be as "sexy" as the idea of bankers being dragged to jail with their noses still covered in white powder but the ramifications of...
If there's one thing more certain in Formula One than that there will be in-fighting between the teams, it's that every few years some kind of financial scandal will engulf at least some aspect of the sport. And if there's an allegation of cheating, there's always an Italian aspect to it. Put the two things together and you get the worst-kept secret in the sport, but one that could not be openly told because of the way the investigation is conducted: the Italian authorities have been investigating financial affairs connected to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza for more than five years.
The debate over the use of a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine continues around the world with (generally discredited) opinions held by some that the vaccine may lead to autism, amongst other things, and simply because of cultural of financial issues. However, the risk of the spread of disease is now being demonstrated, with outbreaks of measles, in particular, originating where failure or refusal to vaccinate is common.
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