Latest Legal News: Finextra Research

Thieves blow up Sydney ATMs

Thieves have blown up four St George Bank cash machines with acetylene gas in Sydney, Australia, successfully stealing money from one.

19 November 2008

News/Legal

Computer programmer files $5m suit against Lehman

Lehman Brothers has been hit with a $5 million lawsuit filed on behalf of over 100 former employees by a computer programmer who was laid off by the failed investment bank.

06 November 2008

News/Legal

Chip and PIN fraudsters jailed

Two men who purloined the details of thousands of credit cards from Chip and PIN terminals and used them to make counterfeits before stealing over £1 million have been jailed at a London Court.

29 October 2008

News/Legal

Discover and Morgan Stanley in dispute over settlement agreement

After reaching a $2.75 billion settlement with Visa and MasterCard, Discover Financial Services says it is in "dispute" with Morgan Stanley over the proportion of the money it should hand over to its former owner.

28 October 2008

News/Legal

Police bust cyber fraud ring

An online criminal forum that was used by thousands of fraudsters to buy and sell stolen credit card and bank details has been shut down following a two year FBI-led undercover operation.

17 October 2008

News/Legal

Prosper stops taking new loans

US online person-to-person lending exchange Prosper has stopped accepting new loans as it looks to register its business with federal regulators.

17 October 2008

News/Legal

ID Data files for administration

UK-based ID Data Group says its core unit - ID Data Limited - has filed for administration in a last-ditch attempt to secure a sale of the business.

16 October 2008

News/Legal

EC clamps down on cross-border direct debit charges

The European Commission (EC) says it is proposing an extension of existing regulations to ensure that cross-border direct debit payments made in euros cost the same as domestic transactions.

15 October 2008

News/Legal

Japanese police guard ATMs on pension day

Thousands of Japanese police officers have been guarding ATMs around the country today in a bid to stop elderly people falling victim to fraudsters, according to press reports.

15 October 2008

News/Legal

Excel error leaves Barclays with unwanted Lehman assets

Barclays Capital has been forced to file a legal relief motion relating to its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' US assets after a reformatting error with an Excel spreadsheet resulted in 179 contracts being mistakenly included in the purchase agreement.

15 October 2008

News/Legal

Visa and MasterCard settle Discover lawsuit

Discover Financial Services has settled a long running anti-trust lawsuit that accused rivals MasterCard and Visa of blocking access to the bank-issued card market in the US.

14 October 2008

News/Legal

EC sets out e-money legal framework

The European Commission (EC) has set out proposals for a legal framework governing the issuance of electronic money which it hopes will accelerate take-up of the technology.

13 October 2008

News/Legal

Guilty plea in $700,000 phishing case

A Romanian man has pleaded guilty in a US court to charges related to a phishing scam that saw him defraud over 7000 victims of around $700,000.

10 October 2008

News/Legal

UK threatens legal action over Icesave as ING Direct acquires Kaupthing deposits

ING Direct - the Web and telephone banking business of Dutch group ING - is acquiring £2.5 billion worth of retail deposits held by UK customers of Kaupthing Edge, the Internet-only arm of the Icelandic bank, under a deal backed by the UK Treasury.

08 October 2008

News/Legal

Chi-X Europe gets FSA approval for proximity-based sponsored access

Multi-lateral trading facility Chi-X Europe says its trading participants can now provide their clients with a "sponsored access" direct connection to its matching engine after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) approved the move.

07 October 2008

News/Legal

Oyster card hack research published

Dutch scientists have finally published a research paper outlining security flaws found in the Mifare chips used in Transport for London's Oyster smart cards.

07 October 2008

News/Legal

Citi claims legal high ground as Wells Fargo snatches Wachovia

West Coast bank Wells Fargo says it expects to incur merger integration costs of $10 billion as it agrees a deal to acquire Wachovia, snatching the North Carolina-based bank from under the nose of FDIC-approved suitor Citi.

03 October 2008

News/Legal

E-Gold brings in KPMG to beef up AML programme

Digital cash transfer outfit E-Gold has retained KPMG to help improve its anti-money laundering (AML) programme following a criminal case that saw directors plead guilty to charges relating to money laundering and the operation of an illegal funds transfer business.

03 October 2008

News/Legal

Canadian cops arrest ATM skimming couple

Canadian police have arrested and charged a married couple that allegedly ran an ATM card skimming operation in Toronto.

03 October 2008

News/Legal

CFTC and FSA to lead commodities task force

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) will head up a task force - established by the technical committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) - that will examine regulation of the commodities markets.

02 October 2008