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Credit Suisse helped clients hide billions from IRS - Senate report

Written By limadu on Rabu, 26 Februari 2014 | 14.44

levin mccain

A Senate panel led by Carl Levin (left) and John McCain released a report alleging Credit Suisse helped clients hide assets from IRS and blasting officials for not acting aggressively.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

The Swiss banking giant, which is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly aiding tax evasion by its rich clients, opened a special Zurich airport branch so customers could fly in, meet their private bankers and quickly hit the slopes, Senate investigators said.

VIPs would use a secret elevator operated by remote control to be whisked to private banking suites. And bankers used sparse meeting rooms, avoided sending account statements and leaving paper trails, the Senate report said.

Last week, CNN reported unusual ways some Credit Suisse customers moved their money. For example, one wealthy customer traveled on flights while hiding $250,000 in pantyhose wrapped around her body, according to federal court documents.

According to the new Senate report, Credit Suisse held more than 22,000 accounts for U.S. customers, with assets valued at between $10 billion and $12 billion. Up to 95% of the accounts weren't reported for tax purposes to the IRS.

The Senate report will be the subject of a hearing Wednesday; executives from Credit Suisse and Justice Department officials are set to testify.

A person familiar with Credit Suisse's position said bank officials will acknowledge that there was wrongdoing, though it was limited to a few bad bankers. "This wasn't a systemic issue at Credit Suisse," the person said, and instead "involved a small number of private bankers in Switzerland who violated bank policy and also U.S. law."

The bank has since terminated the business that provided offshore banking to U.S. residents and was involved in the violations and has cooperated with the investigations, the person said.

The Senate probe takes aim not only at the bankers, but also at the Justice Department.

Senators claim prosecutors have moved slowly and not acted aggressively enough to get the names of account holders and the taxes they owe.

The bank is the latest to come under scrutiny for business practices that U.S. authorities say illegally helped customers avoid paying billions in taxes. The government has cracked down on the practice -- in 2009 Swiss bank UBS paid $780 million to settle similar allegations.

All told, 14 banks are under criminal investigation.

Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat who heads the Senate investigations panel that produced the 175-page report, criticized Justice, the bank and Swiss authorities.

"After years of investigating, negotiating and jaw boning the U.S. has names for just 238 of those 22,000 Credit Suisse customers," Levin said. UBS, as part of its 2009 settlement, turned over the names of 4,700 account holders.

Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the investigations subcommittee, blasted Justice for not holding top bankers "from both ends of the Atlantic" responsible for "practices that went on for years."

Credit Suisse has recently discussed paying about $800 million to settle the Justice Department probe, a figure that some officials and lawmakers think isn't nearly enough.

Levin described it as "too modest" adding: "It doesn't fit the malpractice."

A Justice spokeswoman said the department overall has charged 73 account holders and 35 bankers and advisers with tax evasion and related crimes, and that prosecutors "won't hesitate to indict if and when circumstances merit."

She said prosecutors' work so far "has been forceful enough to cause 43,000 taxpayers to self-report and pay nearly $6 billion in taxes and penalties. Additionally, more than 100 Swiss financial institutions have applied for a program where they fully disclose their illegal conduct, cooperate and pay steep penalties." To top of page

First Published: February 25, 2014: 5:09 PM ET


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How Mt.Gox went down

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The shutdown of Mt.Gox -- one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges -- and the potential loss of more than $350 million worth of bitcoins is the result of abysmal mismanagement at the company.

By its own account, Mt.Gox collected only $380,450 in revenue during most of 2012. The next year, U.S. government agents seized $5 million from its accounts. Such a massive loss would cripple any business, but Mt.Gox remained open in Tokyo, taking people's cash for bitcoins.

Ever since, though, customers noticed Mt.Gox was slow to process transactions. That gave it the aura of a Ponzi scheme. You could join Mt.Gox and give it your money, but cashing out was near impossible.

Things grew worse on Feb. 7, when it halted withdrawals from its accounts. The company's computer programmers hadn't accounted for a quirk in the way Bitcoin works, allowing cyber attackers to dupe Mt.Gox with a scheme resembling receipt fraud. When Mt.Gox discovered it was under attack, it stopped any investors from pulling their money out of their trading platform.

Share your story: Do you have bitcoins?

By the time trading at Mt.Gox was halted entirely late Monday, the price of a Bitcoin there had dropped significantly, to $130. Meanwhile it was trading for more than four times that on other exchanges.

The fact that Mt.Gox's management potentially lost all of its customers' deposits to theft is nothing short of gross incompetence. The cyberthieves would have needed to trick Mt.Gox repeatedly -- withdrawing money, faking a receipt and demanding yet another withdrawal. Now imagine doing that for a prolonged period -- unnoticed -- to the tune of millions of dollars and emptying the company's accounts.

The lack of transparency is also astounding. A company with millions of dollars is staying silent about what's going on. At most, it offers the occasional cryptic message assuring customers it's "closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly."

Related: What is Bitcoin?

For now, Mt.Gox customers are left with more questions than answers: Was Mt.Gox really just an insolvent bank with insufficient reserves? Did it use clients' incoming funds to pay out exiting ones? And why the lack of transparency with loyal customers?

U.S. regulators won't be there to help them get their money back. Mt.Gox is based in Tokyo and isn't subject to the strict controls of Wall Street firms. It also isn't insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as most standard American bank accounts are.

U.S. officials like New York State's top financial regulator, Benjamin Lawsky, jumped at the opportunity to say this is exactly why more government regulation is necessary. U.S. Senator Tom Carper, who heads the homeland security committee, called it a lesson for policymakers.

Mark Williams, a former Federal Reserve bank examiner, said Mt.Gox's failure shows the risk inherent in sending your cash to Bitcoin exchanges -- most of which are located abroad in places like Slovenia and Hong Kong. There's little assurance you'll ever get that money back.

"The problems at Mt.Gox -- lack of strong controls and tight regulation -- are systemic to the Bitcoin industry. The reputational damage will spread," Williams said. "What was the largest exchange is now a collapsed tower of toxic sludge."

Related story: Silk Road heist could doom Bitcoin black markets

Sensing the oncoming wave of doubt, several other Bitcoin exchanges and digital wallet providers sought to reassure investors by taking a harder line with Mt.Gox.

"This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt.Gox was the result of one company's abhorrent actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of Bitcoin and the digital currency industry," the groups said in a statement.

The executives who signed the letter cast Mt.Gox's downfall as the typical industry evolution that weeds out bad actors. Tom Samson is a Bitcoin faithful in Portland, Ore., who sees Mt.Gox's failure as merely a bump in the road.

"I for one am glad to see Mt.Gox finally die. They've been giving Bitcoin a bad name for far too long," he said. "Onwards and upwards." To top of page

First Published: February 25, 2014: 5:29 PM ET


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Apple fixes security flaw for Macs

apple laptop

Apple issued a security fix for Macs four days after hole was patched for mobile devices.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The software update patches a security hole in OS X, the operating system for Apple computers. It comes four days after the same bug was fixed for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, which run on iOS software.

The issue was first disclosed on Friday when Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) released the security patch for mobile devices.

Security experts said there was no evidence hackers discovered the issue before Apple disclosed it, but Mac users were potentially vulnerable since then.

Left unfixed, hackers could potentially read private communications sent over Apple devices, including emails, instant messages, social media posts and even online bank transactions.

Related: BlackBerry unveils new Q20 phone

Those communications usually happen over secure channels. But an error in Apple's code could allow hackers on the same network as the user to view private information, security expert Dmitri Alperovitch told CNNMoney.

So for the most part, Apple users were vulnerable when using an unsecured network at places like a coffee shop or airport.

The software update was issued for both Mavericks and Mountain Lion versions of OS X. Older versions were not vulnerable to the security hole, according to an Apple spokesman. To top of page

First Published: February 25, 2014: 8:23 PM ET


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Will Obama's pledge get the unemployed back to work?

Written By limadu on Sabtu, 01 Februari 2014 | 14.44

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But actually hire them? Their pledge doesn't go quite that far.

On Friday, the White House unveiled a pact signed by 300 companies that have agreed to implement new best practices intended to stamp out discrimination against the long-term unemployed -- generally defined as those who have been out of work for six months or longer.

"Because they've been unemployed ... so long, folks are looking at that gap in the résumé and they're weeding them out before these folks even get a chance for an interview," Obama told CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview Thursday.

The companies pledge not to post job ads that discourage applicants who are unemployed. For example, in some cases, job listings would use language such as "applicants must be currently employed.'

They also agree to review their procedures so they don't inadvertently discriminate against applicants with long gaps in their résumés, and they commit to cast a broad net in recruiting.

The question is whether these steps will have any meaningful effect. Will they lead to jobs or even help remove some of the stigma that the long-term unemployment face?

Related: 'I just want a job'

Jamie May and Lena Rouse know that stigma first hand. Both have been unemployed for over a year now.

May feels she's being discriminated against for two reasons: The gaps in her résumé and her age (she's 56). But in interviews, employers just keep telling her she's overqualified.

"The discrimination is very covert. It's not blatant, but that doesn't mean it's not there," May said. "When I first read about the 300 companies, I thought 'it's just a bunch of talk'."

Rouse would prefer to see the White House push for tax credits for hiring the long-term unemployed.

"A pledge sounds like a waste of time," said Rouse. "Businesses are for-profit. If there are concerns about higher costs with hiring the long-term unemployed, then we should find financial incentives to make the long-term unemployed the preferred hires."

Companies like Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), Dell, Walmart, (WMT, Fortune 500) Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500)and Ford (F, Fortune 500) have already taken Obama's pledge. But the White House also made clear that signing it didn't mean the 300 companies were discriminating against the unemployed.

It's more about sending a message, said Mike Evangelist, a policy analyst with the National Employment Law Project.

"I think it's an important first step," he said. "You're talking about changing attitudes, but it's not going to directly create new jobs."

When reporters asked just how many people would be helped by the pledge, the White House wouldn't answer that question.

"This pledge is saying that those who are long-term unemployed should get a fair shot," Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, said on a conference call Thursday.

Are you unemployed? Share your story with CNNMoney

As of December, about 4 million Americans were counted as unemployed for more than 27 weeks. Efforts backed by Obama to extend a federal program providing jobless benefits to that group fell flat earlier this month in Congress.

New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia already have laws in place, prohibiting job ads that discriminate against the unemployed. In 2011, the President tried to get Congress to pass a nationwide law, prohibiting discrimination based on unemployment status. Bills were introduced in the Senate and House, but little progress was made. To top of page

First Published: January 31, 2014: 2:36 PM ET


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Detroit reaches deal on retiree health care

detroit healthcare

Protestors oppose cuts to healthcare coverage for city of Detroit retirees.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"We're happy we're able to reach any agreement short of protracted litigation," Nowling said. "Things are starting to move in the bankruptcy case and we think it's moving in a positive way."

The cost of providing health care coverage for retirees accounted for about half of the $11.5 billion in unsecured debt that the city cited in its July 18 bankruptcy filing. The plan presented by Orr calls for using the bankruptcy court process to slash those debts to $2 billion.

Related: $330 million deal could save art in bankrupt Detroit

The tentative deal only covers the cost of health care, not pension benefits, which also could be cut in the city's bankruptcy reorganization. Pension benefits have some protections under the Michigan state constitution, but it is not clear whether those protections mean anything in the bankruptcy court process. The retiree health care coverage has even fewer legal protections.

The city has provided health care coverage to retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare that is similar to what active employees get. It has also offered a supplemental Medicare policy.

In October, the city announced plans to end health care coverage for retirees not yet eligible for Medicare. Instead, those retirees would get a $125-a-month stipend to buy coverage on their own, either through the Obamacare exchanges or a current employer.

Michigan governor offers $350 million bailout for Detroit pensions

But first because of problems with the Obamacare web sites, and then at the request of mediators, the city delayed cutting those benefits. They were due to take effect March 1.

There had been a hearing in bankruptcy court set for Feb 3, to hear a legal challenge to these benefit cuts. But on Friday, mediators in the case announced the two sides had reached an agreement and that the legal challenge would be dropped.

Details of the agreement still need to be worked out, according to Nowling. And it will need to be approved by bankruptcy court judge Steven Rhodes.

Rhodes has already rejected a previous agreement between Orr and two major banks that hold city debt, the Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and UBS (UBS). That agreement was also backed by mediators, so it's not certain that Rhodes will approve the deal.

Spokespeople for the city's unions were not available for comment Friday. To top of page

First Published: January 31, 2014: 2:41 PM ET


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What Americans think about Obama's myRA plan

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But not everyone thinks the new plans are a great deal. The accounts, which will launch in a pilot program later this year and will eventually be available to any worker who gets paid through direct deposit and earns below a certain threshold, has elicited a wide range of reaction.

CNNMoney heard from dozens of readers about the president's plan. From disbelievers to eager savers, here's a sampling of where America stands on myRAs:

"Why would anyone consider giving a broke and bankrupt government any more of your money? That's foolish," said 62-year-old reader Steve Keller.

Related: What you need to know about Obama's 'myRA' retirement accounts

Yet, people from a range of ages and financial situations expressed enthusiasm for myRA, saying they would sign up immediately if able. Some don't have access to workplace savings plan, while others said they like the idea of supplementing their savings with the account, which would allow them to save up to $5,500 a year until the account balance reaches $15,000.

In previous years, 36-year-old Grand Prairie, Texas resident Angel Malone had both retirement and other savings set aside. But after weathering four months of unemployment last year and taking a significant pay cut, Malone now says she has less than $1,000 in savings.

Malone, who as a contract worker doesn't receive retirement benefits, said myRA could help her start saving again.

"Being able to start it with a small contribution (is) very affordable at this point for me," she said. "These days anything saved is a help over $0."

Many readers were worried they would not have enough money to live on in retirement and hoped the new plan could help their situation.

"I'm going to be pretty much dependent on Social Security. But I would like to continue saving," said 67-year-old Kathryn Riss, who stopped saving for retirement after losing her job in 2008. While she found a new job in 2009, she now earns around a third of what she used to and doesn't receive retirement benefits.

She and her husband keep the modest savings they do have in money market accounts, which earn less than 1%. The myRA, on the other hand, will invest in government savings bonds and provide returns of around 2% to 3%, depending on interest rates.

Riss said they would like the security and slightly higher returns that the government-backed accounts would offer. "We don't want something that's really volatile and where there's high risk," she said.

Related: Will you have enough to retire?

But other readers weren't sold. Alaska resident John Baumeister, 43, said he would never put his retirement savings in an investment with such a modest return. While Baumeister receives pension benefits from his job as a firefighter, he also invests in a traditional Roth IRA.

"2% interest is pathetic," he said. "Inflation will swallow your buying power at that rate."

Torrington, Conn. resident Dave Elwell is 24, earns a modest income as a mason's apprentice and receives no retirement benefits, making him the target audience for the myRA program.

Yet, in Elwell's opinion, "myRA is little more than worthless" for a young saver due to the minimal returns.

Instead, he said he will continue to contribute 10% of his pay to the Roth IRA account that he set up around six months ago with an online broker. Elwell said he splits his savings among five mutual funds, which are heavily invested in stocks and have been earning double digit annual returns.

"(Obama is) making it seem like people can take money and put it in this account and really have something special," he said. "But after inflation, what will that really be worth?" To top of page

First Published: January 31, 2014: 2:50 PM ET


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