A Las Vegas man, Mykalai Kontilai, receives a 51-month prison sentence and a $6.1 million restitution order for a multi-million dollar investment fraud. Separately, the SEC charges Kiromic BioPharma’s former CEO and CFO with failing to disclose material information before a public offering.
A retired engineering college principal from Hyderabad has fallen victim to a sophisticated cyber fraud, losing ₹8.1 crore in a scam involving fake stock apps and misleading IPO allotments. The incident serves as a stark reminder for investors to be vigilant against online scams.
JPMorgan Chase is pursuing legal action against individuals who exploited a technical flaw to withdraw funds from ATMs before checks bounced. The bank is investigating thousands of potential cases related to the ‘infinite money glitch,’ which gained notoriety on social media. This incident highlights the continued vulnerability of financial institutions to check fraud despite the declining use of physical checks.
A former chief accountant in Vietnam has been sentenced to death for embezzling over $6.2 million from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. The conviction highlights Vietnam’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign and the severity of financial crimes in the country.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over ₹5,000 crore in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged bank loan fraud by Amtek Group. The insolvent automotive equipment manufacturer is suspected of defrauding banks of ₹27,000 crore. The ED’s actions involve attaching farmhouses, vast agricultural and industrial land, and shares and debentures. This follows the arrest of Amtek Group promoter Arvind Dham in July and the Supreme Court’s directive to investigate the case in February.
The Madras High Court has criticized the practice of police indiscriminately freezing bank accounts of suspects, stating that investigation officers lack the legal authority to do so. The court ordered the unfreezing of a bank account frozen by the Ramapuram police in connection with a money transaction dispute, emphasizing that mere default in repayment does not warrant criminal charges.
A Michigan asphalt company has been fined $6.5 million for participating in a bid-rigging scheme, while a Texas tax preparer has been permanently barred from preparing tax returns due to inflating customers’ refunds. In Florida, a man pleaded guilty to evading nearly $2.4 million in taxes on income earned from his medical equipment business.
Li Jiping, a former vice president of China Development Bank, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) for serious violations of discipline and laws. An investigation found he engaged in bribery, abuse of power, and illicit sexual activities. His case will be transferred to prosecutors for review and potential criminal charges.
A nurse shares her harrowing experience of losing her entire pension to a sophisticated scam, urging others to be wary of unsolicited messages promising high returns on pension transfers. She highlights the vulnerability that can arise during challenging times and the devastating impact of such scams on individuals and families.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at over 35 locations in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Nagpur as part of a money laundering investigation against the Amtek Group and its promoters. The probe is linked to an alleged bank loan fraud exceeding ₹20,000 crore, involving the group’s entity ACIL Limited. The ED suspects that loan funds were misappropriated for investments in real estate, foreign ventures, and new businesses, while manipulating financial records to secure additional loans and avoid being classified as non-performing assets (NPAs).
