Chicago&#39;s ethics board voted unanimously to fine Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s former strategist, David Plouffe, $90,000 for illegally lobbying in the city.

The ethics board said that Plouffe, who helped Uber combat onerous regulations and opposition from the taxi industry, violated the Governmental Ethics Ordinance by lobbying city officials and failing to register as a lobbyist.

Plouffe, who served as campaign manager and White House adviser to President Barack Obama, joined Uber in August 2014 and served as its senior vice president of policy and strategy.

The San Francisco-based company sent a letter to the ethics board objecting to the size of the fine, Chicago officials said in a statement on Thursday after the board&#39;s February&nbsp;15 decision was made public.

Uber argued that Plouffe should be fined a maximum of $1,000 for the violation, the statement said. However, the ethics board said that Plouffe lobbied Chicago city officials on November 20, 2015 on behalf of the company without registering until April 13, 2016, culminating in the $90,000 fine.

The ethics board also fined the ride-hailing service $2,000 for the violation. Plouffe and Uber officials were not immediately available to comment outside US&nbsp;business hours.

Plouffe now works for Mark Zuckerberg&#39;s philanthropy organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

(Reuters)

David Plouffe, a former adviser to Uber who was previously in Obama's White House, failed to register as a lobbyist for five months

Chicago's ethics board voted unanimously to fine Uber Technologies Inc's former strategist, David Plouffe, $90,000 for illegally lobbying in the city. The ethics board said that Plouffe, who helped Uber combat onerous regulations and opposition from the taxi industry, violated the Governmental Ethics Ordinance by lobbying city officials and failing to register as a lobbyist. Plouffe, who served as campaign manager and White House adviser to President Barack Obama, joined Uber in August 2014 and served as its senior vice president of policy and strategy. The San Francisco-based company sent a letter to the ethics board objecting to the size of the fine, Chicago officials said in a statement on Thursday after the board's February 15 decision was made public. Uber argued that Plouffe should be fined a maximum of $1,000 for the violation, the statement said. However, the ethics board said that Plouffe lobbied Chicago city officials on November 20, 2015 on behalf of the company without registering until April 13, 2016, culminating in the $90,000 fine. The ethics board also fined the ride-hailing service $2,000 for the violation. Plouffe and Uber officials were not immediately available to comment outside US business hours. Plouffe now works for Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. (Reuters)

Uber's former strategist fined $90,000 for violating lobbying law

The government has approved an order imposing penalties, including a jail term, on people who continue to hold on to notes.&nbsp;

PTI reported that the cabinet had approved the order Wednesday.&nbsp;

Anybody with more than 10 old notes will be penalised.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the demonetisation of 500- and 1,000-rupee notes on the evening of November 8, saying the currency would cease to be legal tender from midnight that day. &nbsp;

PTI reported that the penalty for possessing old notes would include financial&nbsp;fines and a jail term of up to four years in certain cases. &nbsp;

Media reports had earlier said the fine would be Rs 50,000 -- or five times the value of 10 old 1,000-rupee notes. &nbsp;

PTI reported that while sources in the government had said the ordinance had been passed, they had not specified whether the order would go into effect on December 30 this year or March 31 next year. Old notes can be deposited along with a declaration form at specified branches of the Reserve Bank of India till March 31.&nbsp;

December 30 is the last day people are allowed to deposit old notes in their bank accounts.&nbsp;

It is also the day Prime Minister Modi&#39;s self-imposed 50-day deadline -- he had asked the public to brave the fallout of demonetisation for 50 days -- comes to an end.&nbsp;

PTI reported that the cabinet also approved an ordinance amending the RBI Act to cancel the government&#39;s and the central bank&#39;s liability to holders of the old notes&nbsp;in order to prevent future litigation.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

The penalty for possessing more than 10 old notes may include financial fines and a jail term of up to 4 years in certain cases

The government has approved an order imposing penalties, including a jail term, on people who continue to hold on to notes. PTI reported that the cabinet had approved the order Wednesday. Anybody with more than 10 old notes will be penalised. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the demonetisation of 500- and 1,000-rupee notes on the evening of November 8, saying the currency would cease to be legal tender from midnight that day. PTI reported that the penalty for possessing old notes would include financial fines and a jail term of up to four years in certain cases. Media reports had earlier said the fine would be Rs 50,000 -- or five times the value of 10 old 1,000-rupee notes. PTI reported that while sources in the government had said the ordinance had been passed, they had not specified whether the order would go into effect on December 30 this year or March 31 next year. Old notes can be deposited along with a declaration form at specified branches of the Reserve Bank of India till March 31. December 30 is the last day people are allowed to deposit old notes in their bank accounts. It is also the day Prime Minister Modi's self-imposed 50-day deadline -- he had asked the public to brave the fallout of demonetisation for 50 days -- comes to an end. PTI reported that the cabinet also approved an ordinance amending the RBI Act to cancel the government's and the central bank's liability to holders of the old notes in order to prevent future litigation. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Demonetisation: Indian government approves order imposing fine, jail term for holding on to old currency notes

Volkswagen has been slapped with a five-million-Euro ($5.5 million) fine in Italy over the massive engine-fixing scandal, the Italian competition authority said on Monday. 
 
The German carmaker was handed the fine for &quot;improper business practices&quot; after it installed emissions-cheating software in 11 million diesel engines worldwide in a scandal which broke last year, dubbed &quot;dieselgate&quot;. 
 
The antitrust watchdog said the fine related to the marketing in Italy since 2009 of vehicles that tricked pollution tests. 
 
Volkswagen, which owns 12 brands in all, from VW to Audi, Porsche, Seat, and Lamborghini, admitted in September that it had installed software in the vehicles that tricked US emissions tests into showing the cars met environmental standards. 
 
The device switched off after testing, enabling the vehicles to spew up to 40 times the permitted amounts of nitrogen oxides. The still incalculable costs of the affair, including regulatory fines and legal costs, pushed VW into the red for the first time in more than 20 years last year when it booked a loss of 1.6 billion Euros. 
 
In June it agreed to pay out $14.7 billion in a settlement with US authorities and car owners.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP) 
 
Keywords- VW scandal, VW engine-fixing scandal, Volkswagen emissions&nbsp;scandal, VW fined by Italy watchdog, VW fined $5.5 million, Italy watchdog fines VW with 5 million Euros

The fine was for the emissions-cheating software the German carmaker had installed in 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide

Volkswagen has been slapped with a five-million-Euro ($5.5 million) fine in Italy over the massive engine-fixing scandal, the Italian competition authority said on Monday. The German carmaker was handed the fine for "improper business practices" after it installed emissions-cheating software in 11 million diesel engines worldwide in a scandal which broke last year, dubbed "dieselgate". The antitrust watchdog said the fine related to the marketing in Italy since 2009 of vehicles that tricked pollution tests. Volkswagen, which owns 12 brands in all, from VW to Audi, Porsche, Seat, and Lamborghini, admitted in September that it had installed software in the vehicles that tricked US emissions tests into showing the cars met environmental standards. The device switched off after testing, enabling the vehicles to spew up to 40 times the permitted amounts of nitrogen oxides. The still incalculable costs of the affair, including regulatory fines and legal costs, pushed VW into the red for the first time in more than 20 years last year when it booked a loss of 1.6 billion Euros. In June it agreed to pay out $14.7 billion in a settlement with US authorities and car owners. (AFP) Keywords- VW scandal, VW engine-fixing scandal, Volkswagen emissions scandal, VW fined by Italy watchdog, VW fined $5.5 million, Italy watchdog fines VW with 5 million Euros

Volkswagen fined $5.5 million in Italy

A US army soldier who participated in a scheme to buy guns and send them to a security detail for the president and vice president of Indonesia plead guilty to several charges in federal court. 
 
Audi Sumilat pleaded guilty Tuesday and will be sentenced in October, the US attorney&#39;s office in New Hampshire said yesterday. 
The 36-year-old faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. 
 
One of Sumilat&#39;s co-conspirators also has been charged and is scheduled to be tried on July 19.&nbsp;Assistant US Attorney Bill Morse said there have been cases in New Hampshire and other states involving international firearms trafficking to countries including Ghana, Canada and Mexico.&nbsp;&quot;But this is the first case that I&#39;m aware of in which the intended beneficiaries of the trafficking were representatives of a foreign government,&quot; Morse said. 
 
Authorities said Sumilat joined a conspiracy to buy guns in Texas and New Hampshire for members of the Indonesian Presidential Guard, who are tasked with providing security to the president and vice president but could not lawfully buy the weapons themselves. 
Sumilat admitted he and three guard members came up with a plan in 2014, when they were stationed together for training in Fort Benning, Georgia. 
 
Sumilat said he bought guns in Texas and shipped them to a co-conspirator in New Hampshire, who delivered them to guard members on visits to Washington DC, and to the UN General Assembly in New York. The guns were to be smuggled out of the United States. 
Sumilat pleaded guilty to making false statements in records required to be kept by federal firearms dealers for telling gun dealers the weapons were for him and for smuggling firearms from the US. 
 
To have legally exported the guns, Sumilat was required to get an exporter&#39;s license and a license covering the specific guns exported. No licenses were issued. 
 
New Hampshire US Attorney Emily Gray Rice said the consequences of international gun trafficking can be grave.&nbsp;&quot;Firearms exported overseas illegally can easily end up in the wrong hands,&quot; she said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;International gun trafficking will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible to protect innocent individuals, both American and foreign, from the criminal use of US weapons abroad.&quot; 
 
(AP)

Sumilat pleaded guilty in federal court, and faces a sentence of five years in jail and a $250,000 fine

A US army soldier who participated in a scheme to buy guns and send them to a security detail for the president and vice president of Indonesia plead guilty to several charges in federal court. Audi Sumilat pleaded guilty Tuesday and will be sentenced in October, the US attorney's office in New Hampshire said yesterday. The 36-year-old faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. One of Sumilat's co-conspirators also has been charged and is scheduled to be tried on July 19. Assistant US Attorney Bill Morse said there have been cases in New Hampshire and other states involving international firearms trafficking to countries including Ghana, Canada and Mexico. "But this is the first case that I'm aware of in which the intended beneficiaries of the trafficking were representatives of a foreign government," Morse said. Authorities said Sumilat joined a conspiracy to buy guns in Texas and New Hampshire for members of the Indonesian Presidential Guard, who are tasked with providing security to the president and vice president but could not lawfully buy the weapons themselves. Sumilat admitted he and three guard members came up with a plan in 2014, when they were stationed together for training in Fort Benning, Georgia. Sumilat said he bought guns in Texas and shipped them to a co-conspirator in New Hampshire, who delivered them to guard members on visits to Washington DC, and to the UN General Assembly in New York. The guns were to be smuggled out of the United States. Sumilat pleaded guilty to making false statements in records required to be kept by federal firearms dealers for telling gun dealers the weapons were for him and for smuggling firearms from the US. To have legally exported the guns, Sumilat was required to get an exporter's license and a license covering the specific guns exported. No licenses were issued. New Hampshire US Attorney Emily Gray Rice said the consequences of international gun trafficking can be grave. "Firearms exported overseas illegally can easily end up in the wrong hands," she said in a statement. "International gun trafficking will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible to protect innocent individuals, both American and foreign, from the criminal use of US weapons abroad." (AP)

US soldier smuggles guns for Indonesian President's security detail

A Luxembourg court today handed out suspended sentences to the two former accounting firm employees who leaked data about Luxembourg&#39;s tax deals with large corporations, which gained prominence in the so-called &quot;LuxLeaks&quot; affair. 
 
Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, both French citizens and former employees of accounting firm PwC, received suspended sentences of 12 and nine months respectively. 
 
Deltour also received a fine of 1,500 euros ($1,665) while Halet was fined 1,000 euros. Both said they would appeal. 
 
French television journalist Edouard Perrin, who used the leaked data for a broadcast made in 2012, was acquitted of all charges. 
 
The case was seen as a delicate balancing act for the judge between upholding Luxembourg&#39;s strict secrecy laws and protecting whistleblowers. 
 
One of Deltour&#39;s lawyers William Bourdon called the verdict &quot;scandalous&quot;. The message of Luxembourg&#39;s justice system was for multinationals to &quot;sleep tight&quot;, he said. 
 
Outside of the court, Deltour was greeted by singing supporters. 
 
Over the course of the trial the court heard how Deltour had copied 45,000 pages of documents to which he gained access through a glitch in the company&#39;s servers, which had since been fixed. 
 
Prosecutors say this data and material supplied by Halet was used in the &#39;LuxLeaks&#39; revelations of November 2014 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 
 
The prosecutor had requested 18-month prison sentences and fines, far less than the five-year maximum for the charges that range from violating secrecy laws to theft and IT fraud. 
 
For Perrin the prosecutor had sought a fine, without specifying how high it should be. 
 
The leaked documents showed that companies such as PepsiCo, AIG and Deutsche Bank secured deals from Luxembourg to slash their tax bills. 
 
Luxembourg, a small country wedged in between France, Belgium and Germany, says other states have similar arrangements, and has offered to share details of the tax deals. 
 
(Reuters)

Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet received suspended jail sentences for sharing data about Luxembourg slashing taxes for big corporations

A Luxembourg court today handed out suspended sentences to the two former accounting firm employees who leaked data about Luxembourg's tax deals with large corporations, which gained prominence in the so-called "LuxLeaks" affair. Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, both French citizens and former employees of accounting firm PwC, received suspended sentences of 12 and nine months respectively. Deltour also received a fine of 1,500 euros ($1,665) while Halet was fined 1,000 euros. Both said they would appeal. French television journalist Edouard Perrin, who used the leaked data for a broadcast made in 2012, was acquitted of all charges. The case was seen as a delicate balancing act for the judge between upholding Luxembourg's strict secrecy laws and protecting whistleblowers. One of Deltour's lawyers William Bourdon called the verdict "scandalous". The message of Luxembourg's justice system was for multinationals to "sleep tight", he said. Outside of the court, Deltour was greeted by singing supporters. Over the course of the trial the court heard how Deltour had copied 45,000 pages of documents to which he gained access through a glitch in the company's servers, which had since been fixed. Prosecutors say this data and material supplied by Halet was used in the 'LuxLeaks' revelations of November 2014 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The prosecutor had requested 18-month prison sentences and fines, far less than the five-year maximum for the charges that range from violating secrecy laws to theft and IT fraud. For Perrin the prosecutor had sought a fine, without specifying how high it should be. The leaked documents showed that companies such as PepsiCo, AIG and Deutsche Bank secured deals from Luxembourg to slash their tax bills. Luxembourg, a small country wedged in between France, Belgium and Germany, says other states have similar arrangements, and has offered to share details of the tax deals. (Reuters)

'LuxLeaks' whistleblowers given suspended prison sentences

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