Chief Officers News

Taxation: Phishing fraud attacks UK taxpayers

A widespread e-mail spam scam has been launched, attacking UK taxpayers - and to steal their credit card numbers on a reversal of the usual issues of tax fraud.

IndyCar: Lotus - Cosworth to return to the USA.

Here's a convoluted tale.

There's a little press release from Lotus - not the Formula One team, the car manufacturer.

At first sight, it's innocuous: "Lotus and Cosworth have entered into a new technical and commercial partnership with established IndyCar competitors KV Racing Technology to run in the 2010 IndyCar Series."

Intellectual Property: web business sold illegal copies of software

A father and son have pleaded guilty to selling USD1 million worth of counterfeit computer software through the Internet. And used search-engine small-ads to promote their activities.

Business crime: from the "yeah, right" department

Spam scams are so common they are rarely worth reporting on. But sometimes one is interesting - even if only because it is so ridiculous. This advanced fee fraud is just silly. Read it - don't be taken in by it. And yes, of course we'll keep it confidential as the writer asks. Not.

F1: 2010 starts in style

The 2010 season is under way: whether Bahrain is the right circuit to start the season is open to debate: it's hard, hot and bumpy. But it's close to the UK where most teams are based and so is in some respects a good choice for the first race after testing has finished. So was it just an extended shakedown with points? Not a bit of it.

F1: Friday Practice for Bahrain GP shows consistent spread from top to bottom

Bahrain. 09:00. Mechanics have been working all night - partly to get things ready, partly because some only arrived yesterday and partly because it's cooler at night. The first engines fire up and out onto track come the first two cars. Jarno Trulli is followed by Heikki Kovalainen: it's the first time a Lotus has been at a Formula One race meeting since the end of the 1994 season; it's six months to the day since the FIA granted the team entry. And it's all been achieved from scratch with no takeover of an existing team and no backing of an established GP2 or similar team... and that's not all.

Taxation: Last day to file on-line UK / Offshore Account disclosure and pay any tax due

The deadline for UK residents (excluding the famed non-dom class) to declare offshore accounts and pay any tax due is today. If they do it online. If they want to use paper, it's already too late.

Business Strategies: what do you do with an incalculable surplus of cash?

There are estimates of just how much surplus China has in US dollars. There is little doubt that it's enough to cause lasting and long-term harm to the US currency if China dumped it. So when it's got no real growth potential sitting in a bank, what would you do with it? China's answer? It's becoming the lender to the world, adopting the Kennedy policy of the early 1960s in relation to South America, but without a regional restriction.

Travel Warnings: more countries warn of risks in Bangkok

Last month, the Thai authorities warned travellers to Bangkok to be cautious due to the threat of disturbances from supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin. Now some 30 countries are warning their citizens to be cautious as widespread demonstrations are planned for the Thai Capital today.

Business crime: UK Insolvency service closes businesses for misleading sales practices

Three companies based in Bolton in the north of England which used misleading sales practices to solicit sponsorship from businesses have been wound up in the High Court following an investigation by Company Investigations of the Insolvency Service.

Legal Professional : "estate planning advisers" were running a ponzi scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order to shut down a Ponzi scheme targeting retirees in California and Illinois by inviting them to estate planning seminars and later coaxing them to buy promissory notes for purported Turkish investments.

The Legal Professional: US bankruptcies rise in 2009

The USA lumps all kinds of insolvency proceedings under the single heading of "bankruptcy" and so its headline figures are misleading. But behind the headline figure - that there was a near-30% increase in 2009 as against 2008, there are some trends that indicate a deep malaise in the US economy - and signs that there's still a long way to go before bad debt has returned to actuarially acceptable levels.

Aviation : AUS starts action alleging price fixing by Korean Air Lines

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd.

F1: Teams ready for Bahrain

It was a momentous moment - Lotus packed their trucks with kit, people and (to the surprise of many) two cars and set off for the airport en route for Bahrain. Williams is chuffed for a different reason.

F1: Schumacher's return: will the bad boy of F1 behave himself this time around?

Silverstone, 1994. The British Grand Prix. Aiming for his first World Championship, Michael Schumacher in his Benetton, lines up behind Damon Hill and the cars set off on the warm-up lap. Schumacher started cheating - and continued for much of the rest of his career. Is there any reason to suspect that this time around it will be any different?

Business crime: former chairman of HK company convicted of conspiracy to defraud shareholders

A former chairman and a former executive director of publicly listed Grand Field Group Holdings Limited (Grand Field), charged by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, have been convicted at the District Court of conspiracy to defraud shareholders of the company and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) in relation to a bogus joint venture in a gas pipeline project in Chongqing, Mainland China and of money laundering in relation to the proceeds.

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals adds membership class and training accreditation

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals, which coined the slogan "Beyond Compliance" has made it easier for juniors in the risk management and compliance fields to join the Society with a new class that has no annual membership fee, plus a scheme for accrediting training course providers.

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals: launch of Accredited Training Course Provider scheme

Hong Kong and London: 8 March 2010 (www.biznewsselect.com)

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals has today announced the launch of its Accredited Training Course Provider scheme.

The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals launches new membership class

Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur: 8 March 2010 (www.biznewsselect.com). The Society of Anti Money Laundering Professionals has launched a new class of membership. For this class, there is no annual membership fee for 2010.

F1: final(ish) rule changes for 2010 season

The FIA recently released a series of amendments to the sporting and technical regulations including a re-think on the points to be awarded.