Articles by Aruna Viswanatha

Justice Department Testing Little-Used Law in Financial Crisis Cases

An Obama administration task force established to investigate misconduct that fueled the financial crisis is turning to a little-used statute that may make such cases easier to bring, according to people familiar with the matter. The federal statute, FIRREA, was …

Judge Weighs Release of Insurance Monies for MF Global Defense

An MF Global bankruptcy trustee asked a judge on Monday to release $25 million in insurance money to pay defense costs for Jon Corzine and other former MF Global officers facing civil lawsuits over the broker’s October collapse. If paid …

SEC, Citgroup May Win Appeal in Mortgage Fraud Case

A federal appeals court stopped just short of throwing out a judge’s controversial rejection of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s $285 million fraud settlement with Citigroup Inc over mortgage investments. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals chastised U.S. …

U.S. Firms Seek Clarity on Anti-Bribery Law

U.S. corporations asked the government to explain what it considers a bribe of a foreign official, saying the lack of clarity has had a chilling effect on business. The Chamber of Commerce and dozens of other trade groups wrote a …

U.S. Justice Dept. Closes Allianz Indonesia Bribery Probe w/o Charges

The U.S. Justice Department has closed its investigation into whether Allianz SE violated a foreign bribery law through its insurance business in Indonesia and does not plan to bring charges, according to a letter reviewed on Tuesday by Reuters. “Based …

5 Big Banks, States Agree on $25 Billion Home Mortgage Deal

Five big U.S. banks accused of abusive mortgage practices have agreed to a $25 billion government settlement that may help roughly one million borrowers but is no magic bullet for the ailing housing market. Thursday’s announcement brings an end to …

Holdout States Expected to Join Mortgage Bank Deal

California and New York, two key holdout states for a multi-state mortgage settlement, are expected to join the deal, smoothing the way for an announcement expected on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Florida, with its large …

Not All States Sign $25B Settlement Giving Banks Lawsuit Protection

A proposed mortgage settlement in the works for more than a year will move forward with more than 40 states joining the deal before a Monday deadline, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said in a statement. States had been given …

Courts Push Back on Foreign Bribery Prosecutions

As the U.S. Justice Department has stepped up its enforcement of an anti-foreign bribery law, it has faced the expected stiff resistance from the business community. Now it faces the unexpected as courts are pushing back, too. In an unusual …

SEC Changes Its Settlement Language Where Criminal Violations Admitted

U.S. securities regulators said on Friday that defendants can no longer settle civil cases using “neither admit nor deny” language if they have already admitted to wrongdoing in parallel criminal cases. The policy change, announced by Securities and Exchange Commission …