Corruption Currents: El Chapo Actress Facing Money Laundering Probe
A daily roundup of corruption news from across the Web. We also provide a daily roundup of important risk & compliance stories via our daily newsletter, The Morning Risk Report, which readers can sign up for here. Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk. Bribery: Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, is being investigated on charges she accepted a rental contract for a luxury apartment from a public worker’s union. Ms. Wallstrom said the union lied to her about the property, adding she plans to move out this week. (Algemeiner) The bribery trial of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price begins this week in Texas. Mr. Price denies charges he took money from a company that won a country records contract. (Dallas Morning News) Maj. Yosef Zaid, a senior officer in the Israel Defense Forces, was sentenced to five years in prison for taking money in return for issuing work permits. (Jerusalem Post) Money Laundering: Mexico launched a money laundering investigation into Kate del Castillo, the actress who reportedly brokered the interview between actor Sean Penn and alleged drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Ms. del Castillo doesn’t appear to have commented. (Newsweek) The FCPA Blog looks at what a movie can teach us about compliance. Matt Kelly says big banks just received a regulatory kick in the ribs. Mike Volkov says you can’t have bribery without money. Richard Bistrong discusses international business attitudes toward corruption. Tom Fox visits the intersection of compliance and cybersecurity. The first case to come from an alleged tax fraud scheme reportedly carried out with the help of Russian government officials is set to begin this month in New York. (Radio Free Europe) Guernsey is considering a motion to raise the fines for money laundering and terrorism financing from 200,000 British pounds to 4 million. (BBC) Cybercrime/Data Privacy: An appeals court in the U.K. said the country’s Terrorism Act of 2000 doesn’t provide enough protections for journalists. (BBC) Australia’s Cybercrime Online Reporting Network received more than 39,000 reports of alleged cybercrime last year. (Kotaku) Do people in the U.S. care about data privacy? (Tech Crunch) Whistleblowers: Rules need to be strengthened to improve protections for whistleblowers in India, said the country’s central vigilance commissioner. (Hindu) General Anti-Corruption: Is corruption in defense spending in African nations behind an increase in the number of terrorist attacks there? (Time) Nigeria has lost $6.8 billion in stolen public funds over the past seven years, the country’s information minister said. (Reuters) There was an 18% increase in the number of corruption complaints filed last year in Hing Kong. (South China Morning Post) Write to Ben DiPietro at ben.dipietro@dowjones.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenDiPietro1.