Europeans traded blame Monday over the source of a mysterious bacterial outbreak that has killed 14 people and sickened hundreds across the continent.

Spanish cucumbers are being blamed for an E. coli outbreak that killed 10 people in Germany and sickened hundreds. Video courtesy of Reuters and photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The outbreak forced Russia to ban imports of some fresh vegetables from Spain and Germany out of fear they could be contaminated, while Austrian authorities sent inspectors to supermarkets to make sure Spanish vegetables suspected of contamination have been removed. In Italy, the country's paramilitary Carabinieri has been on the lookout since Saturday for suspected contaminated imports from Spain, the Netherlands and other European countries.

Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, a European Union spokeswoman, said German authorities had identified cucumbers from the Spanish cities of Almeira and Malaga as possible sources of contamination and that a third suspect batch, originating either in the Netherlands or in Denmark and traded in Germany, is also under investigation.

In Germany, which has recorded the most infections and all known deaths, officials said they believe that at least some Spanish cucumbers tainted with enterohaemorrhagic E.coli, also known as EHEC, have carried the bacteria, although they still have not been able to determine the exact source. An EU official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to standing regulations, said the transport chain was long, and the cucumbers from Spain could have been contaminated at any point along the route.

Spanish officials, meanwhile, called on German and EU authorities to clarify their findings.

Spain's Environment Minister Rosa Aguilar told journalists that "it's not true" that the outbreak started in Spain, and said probes now being conducted must be completed as soon as possible. She added that German authorities "must stop fingering Spain" for the outbreak.

"We need urgent action…to stop the damage on the reputation of Spain's producers," Ms. Aguilar said. "They implement sanitary checkups responsibly, even above European Union requirements."

Group of Eight leaders pledged to support pro-democracy movements in North Africa, announcing a mix of loans from international development banks and direct aid totaling at least $40 billion.

Institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank could provide more than $20 billion for Egypt and Tunisia through 2013, including 3.5 billion euros ($5 billion) from the European Investment Bank, to support “suitable reform efforts,” said a statement today on the so- called Arab Spring after a two-day summit in the French seaside resort of Deauville.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a press conference, said G-8 countries will provide another $10 billion in direct aid to Tunisia and Egypt, and that oil exporting countries in the Gulf such as Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will kick in another $10 billion. Those figures weren’t included in the communique.
Egypt and Tunisia have seen foreign investment plunge and tourism suffer since toppling their autocratic leaders this year, threatening economic instability as war rages in neighboring Libya. The International Monetary Fund says the region will need more than $160 billion over the next two years.
Hosted by Sarkozy, the fellow leaders of the G-8 nations -- the U.S., Russia, Italy, the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan -- agreed to set up a “partnership” with the region to encourage the transition to democracy and foster “short-term economic stability.”
Sarkozy, who invited the interim leaders of Tunisia and Egypt as well as representatives of the IMF, the World Bank and Arab League to the second day of the summit that ended today, said the success of the two countries at the vanguard of the Arab Spring is “absolutely crucial.”
Fragile Democracy
Encouraging the fragile democracy in both countries “is the most important issue at this G-8,” Sarkozy told reporters in Deauville.
The promise of support was one of the main goals of President Barack Obama heading into the summit. Obama last week promised Egypt $1 billion in loan guarantees through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the cancellation of $1 billion in debt, about a third of what Egypt owes the U.S.
The European Union said two days ago it would increase aid to countries in North Africa and to the east of the 27-nation bloc by 1.2 billion euros. Sarkozy said France’s share of the direct aid is 1 billion euros. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany will contribute as much as 300 million euros, with the emphasis on creating jobs for young people in the region.
Aid Flowing
“What’s important now is to get the money to the people quickly,” Merkel told reporters in Deauville. The EU should set up “new, fast and efficient structures” to get the aid flowing.
Britain will provide Egypt, Tunisia and other Arab nations with 110 million pounds ($180 million) of aid over four years to encourage political and economic development, Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said yesterday.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, doesn’t view debt cancellation as the right approach, said an official attending the summit who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.
“Most of the aid that will be delivered quite frankly will be done through multilateral channels,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters last night. “Debt forgiveness really would not be a particularly useful tool in terms of what we could do in this region.”
Tourism Drops Off
Foreign direct investment in Tunisia plunged 25 percent in the first four months of 2011, the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency said May 19, one day after the tourist board said that tourist arrivals fell 41 percent over the same period.
Egypt’s budget deficit may widen to 11 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year that ends June 2012, the most in a decade, Finance Minister Samir Radwan said May 19.
Tunisian Finance Minister Jelloul Ayed said Tunisia wants to invest $5 billion a year over the next five years to create jobs for the country’s 700,000 unemployed. “We are looking for multiple types of aid: grants, long-term loans, direct investments,” Ayed said at a press conference. The program includes infrastructure projects as well as seed money for small companies, he said.
“We are very satisfied” with the G-8’s support, Ayed said.
Encourage Trade
Under the so-called Deauville Partnership, G-8 countries said they will consider improved market access for Arab Spring nations to encourage trade. They urged the IMF to “respond with the necessary support to help meet the external financing needs” of the countries of the region.
The World Bank earlier this week said it plans to provide as much as $6 billion for the two countries, where popular revolts toppled their leaders earlier this year.
The money announced is “not a blank check” and will be tied to “overall reform programs,” Michael Froman, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, told reporters in Deauville.
“More important than any numerical figure, I think, is the vision that it lays out,” he said. “This is largely a case of trade not aid, investment not assistance over time. It’s really about establishing the conditions under which the private sectors in these economies can flourish and the benefits of growth are broadly shared.”

Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean two years ago stalled three times before plunging into the sea, killing all 228 people on board

Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean two years ago stalled three times before plunging into the sea, killing all 228 people on board, information from the plane's flight recorders shows.

French investigators said on Friday that data from the devices, known as black boxes, revealed the final minutes of the air disaster, with two co-pilots struggling to regain control of the Airbus jet.

The emergency began with a stall warning two and a half hours into flight 447 between Rio de Janeiro and Paris on June 1 2009.

The captain was on a routine break at the time and was summoned back to the cockpit by the second and third in command, but did not retake the controls.

The co-pilots wrestled with the plane's controls for three and a half minutes as it descended rapidly, falling 3,350 metres per minute, rolling from left to right and finally plunging into the Atlantic.

"There was an inconsistency between the speeds displayed on the left side and the integrated standby instrument system (ISIS), the French Bureau of Inquiry and Analysis (BEA), said.

"This lasted for less than one minute".

However the investigators said it is still too early to give the causes of the crash, and a full report is expected to be released this summer.

Airbus said the information released on Friday was consistent with the BEA's preliminary and interim reports and "constitutes a significant step towards the identification of the complete chain of events" that led to the crash.

According to the chronology provided by the BEA, the two co-pilots who were flying the plane decided at two hours and eight minutes into the flight to turn slightly to the left to avoid a zone of turbulence.

Two minutes later the autopilot disengaged, the instruments began showing "a sharp fall" in airspeed and the engine stall warning began to sound.

"So, we've lost the speeds," it quoted the second of the two co-pilots as saying.

After the captain returned, "all of the recorded speeds became invalid and the stall warning stopped," said the BAE report.

The last data on the recorder showed that the plane's nose was up at a sharp angle as it plunged into the ocean.

The BAE report said "the composition of the crew was in accordance with the operator's procedures."

The captain would normally take a rest during the flight and leave the two co-pilots at the controls.

David Cameron has confirmed British Apache attack helicopters would be deployed for the campaign against Muammar Gaddafi.

The Prime Minister insisted the time was right to "ratchet up" the pressure on the Libyan leader.
The decision follows claims the embattled dictator was becoming increasingly paranoid and "on the run".
MI6 told the PM it had discovered the ruler's behaviour was becoming more erratic as Nato airstrikes take their toll.
Mr Cameron, speaking in France as the G8 summit ended, said Col Gaddafi was "feeling the pressure".
"There are signs that the momentum against Gaddafi is really building," he said.
"We know that we're on the right side, we're doing the right thing, the pressure is telling."
MORE NATO STRIKES ON TRIPOLI OVERNIGHT

Mr Cameron also confirmed that four UK and 12 French attack helicopters would be used in Libya - but he did not say when they would begin operations.
Sky sources said the aircraft would be sent in to the North African country by the weekend.
The decision comes as Russia announced it was ready to mediate on the mission to end Col Gaddafi's four-decade rule.
It was a change in tone from the Kremlin's previous criticism of Western intervention in the Libyan crisis.
The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said: "Colonel Gaddafi has deprived himself of legitimacy with his actions, we should help him leave."
Now there are signs that the momentum against Gaddafi is really building. We know that we're on the right side, we're doing the right thing, the pressure is telling."
British Prime Minister David Cameron
But Mr Cameron played down the country's offer, stressing the only resolution involved Col Gaddafi leaving power.
As Nato plans to step up attacks on Col Gaddafi's forces, more explosions have been heard near the his compound in Tripoli for the fourth night this week.
Sky's foreign affairs correspondent Lisa Holland, who is in Tripoli, said she heard five loud explosions coming from that area on Thursday night.
It is believed Col Gaddafi is moving between hospitals in the capital nightly in a bid to evade the missiles.

Gaddafi has not been seen publicly for over two weeks
His youngest son, Saif al Arab, and three of his grandchildren were killed in an airstrike a few weeks ago.
The new information is understood to have convinced Mr Cameron that the time was right to "turn the screw".
Mr Cameron, Defence Secretary Liam Fox and military chiefs have agreed to put four Apache attack helicopters at the disposal of the Nato operation, alongside existing warplane deployments.
The advantage of the aircraft is they can carry out strikes at much closer quarters, reducing the potential for collateral damage and allowing a wider range of targets to be taken on.
They are expected to be used against Col Gaddafi's troops in built-up areas of the city of Misratah.

The Apaches could begin operating from HMS Ocean, which is in the Mediterranean, almost immediately.
The situation in Libya was one of the main topics at a meeting of G8 leaders in France on Thursday.
Mr Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy agreed that the pressure on Gaddafi must be increased.
Mr Sarkozy has already authorised the use of 12 French attack helicopters, flying from the amphibious assault ship Le Tonnerre.
In a joint interview with the French president at the summit, US President Barack Obama vowed to "finish the job" in Libya, saying Col Gaddafi had to be removed.

A judge ruled on Friday that Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, the alleged mastermind of the Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities, was fit to face international justice at a war crimes court.

The ruling came amid pleas from Mladic's family that he was too ill to be transferred to the UN court in The Hague and that he was not guilty of organising the Srebrenica massacre - the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II - and the 44-month siege of Sarajevo.

"It has been established that Ratko Mladic's health condition makes him fit to stand trial.... We have decided the conditions for transfer have been met," judge Maja Kovacevic told reporters outside Serbia's special war crimes court.

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"Doctors say he is physically fit to follow the procedure despite the fact that he is suffering from several chronic illnesses," she added.

The judge said Mladic "has refused to accept the indictment by The Hague court", where he faces charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Mladic's lawyer Milos Saljic told reporters he would appeal the ruling within the required three days.

"On Monday we will submit an appeal to this decision," he said outside the court.

Speaking to reporters earlier - a day after his father was arrested at the end of a 16-year manhunt - Mladic's son Darko Mladic insisted he was not guilty and not healthy enough to be transferred.

"His position is that he is not guilty of what he is accused of," Darko Mladic told reporters after meeting with his father inside the Serbian court building.

"I am not a doctor but my opinion is that he is not fit at the moment," he said when asked if he thought his father could be transferred to The Hague.

Mladic made a first court appearance in Belgrade on Thursday after being arrested in the early hours in a village in northern Serbia, but his first hearing was halted after his lawyer Saljic said he was too ill to speak.

Darko Mladic said the family considers the former general's medical condition "worrying" and will ask for him to be checked over by a team of independent doctors, possibly from Russia.

According to Darko Mladic, his father had a medical check-up including an electrocardiogram heart test and a brain scan.

"The scan showed two scars from cerebral haemorrhages," the son said. Mladic's family had earlier stated that he had suffered strokes.

The Hague-based UN tribunal, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), insisted on Friday that its detention centre was able to care for ill inmates.

"We are able to care for ... people who have illnesses," ICTY spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic told AFP, adding the majority of accused in the tribunal's custody had "pre-existing medical conditions".

A source in Serbia's war crimes court said Mladic had asked for strawberries and Russian literature to be brought to his cell while in detention.

Serbian President Boris Tadic announced the arrest of Mladic on Thursday and said the process of transferring him was expected to take about seven days.

The indictment against him cites the Srebrenica massacre, the siege of Sarajevo, and the creation of camps and detention centres during the 1992-1995 war, all as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing directed against Bosnian Muslims.

At Srebrenica in July 1995, 8000 Muslim men and boys were rounded up and killed in Europe's deadliest massacre since World War II.

Newspapers reported that Serbian intelligence officers and a special war criminals tracking team swooped in the early hours of Thursday on several houses in Lazarevo, a village around 80 kilometres north of Belgrade, close to the Romanian border.

Mladic was located and arrested without the participation of foreign intelligence services, Serbia's war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic was quoted as saying.

"The arrest of Mladic is a result of a hard work by the action team and our security services," Vukcevic told Tanjug news agency.

Mladic was found alone in one of the houses and, although he was armed, he offered no resistance.

Two papers published one of the first photographs seen of Mladic in some 16 years, showing a visibly older and thinner but still recognisable face.

News of Mladic's arrest was welcomed around the world though Moscow called for an impartial trial of the alleged war criminal.

In Serbia, the wartime Bosnian Serb military chief is seen by some as a hero and around 500 ultra-nationalists protesting the arrest clashed with police on Thursday in the northern city of Novi Sad, leaving two people injured.

In Belgrade, a hundred people gathered downtown carrying Serbian flags and torches on Thursday, chanting Mladic's name.

The Serbian ultra-nationalist Radical Party (SRS) has called for a massive protest against Mladic's arrest on Sunday.

EU prepares for emergency restoration of visa rules

European Union could temporarily reintroduce visas for some travellers from outside the bloc in case of a sudden influx of migrants from a specific country, under plans presented by the EU executive on Tuesday.

The proposal addresses concerns by some EU governments about a sharp increase in asylum seekers from the western Balkans, where countries won the right to visa-free travel to the 25 member states of Europe's border-free Shengen area.

It also reflects a growing reluctance in Europe to keep its borders open at a time when turmoil in North Africa is driving thousands of people to seek refuge and jobs in the EU, while public opinion grows hostile to newcomers.

The European Commission said new rules would allow EU member governments to quickly restore visas in case of a "high inflow of irregular migrants or a sudden increase of unfounded asylum requests from a third country".

"Establishing a safeguard clause will help to preserve the integrity of the visa liberalisation processes and to build credibility vis-a-vis the public," the executive said in a statement.

Under current laws it could take up to a few years to change visa rules. The proposed changes need to be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament.

EU governments granted visa-free travel to citizens of Bosnia and Albania at the end of 2010, a year after visitors from Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia saw travel restrictions eased, as part of EU policies of stabilising the Balkans

 

Roman Catholic order of priests sacked its leader in the Netherlands and disciplined another priest Monday after the two publicly defended pedophile sex

Roman Catholic order of priests sacked its leader in the Netherlands and disciplined another priest Monday after the two publicly defended pedophile sex, an issue haunting the worldwide Church in recent years.

The scandal erupted over the weekend when RTL radio reported the priest, named only as Rev. Van B, had been a board member of a lobbying group advocating sex between adults and children. He told RTL that few children suffered from such relationships.

Asked about the case, Rev. Herman Spronck, leader of the Dutch Salesians, said he agreed pedophile sex could be accepted.

"Herman Spronck is no longer the delegate from the Salesian delegation in the Netherlands," his superior Rev. Jos Claes, leader of the Salesians in Belgium and the Netherlands, told RTL. "We fully distance ourselves from the words we find in your interview with Herman Spronck."

Rev. Van B "can longer perform any pastoral duties as of today," he added.

The Dutch Salesians used to run boarding schools where many of the 2,000 complaints of clerical sexual abuse of boys emerged when the scandal broke there last year. It has admitted to paying hush money to some victims.

WIDESPREAD ABUSE

An independent commission investigating abuse cases dating back to 1945 has found that the Netherlands ranks worst behind only Ireland in a scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in Europe and the United States.

The abuse scandal has badly damaged the reputation of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict has apologised for the scandals and last week issued tougher new guidelines for churches around the world to make fighting clerical sex abuse a top priority.

While many priests have been exposed as molesters, very few have defended sex with minors. The radio said Van B. had twice been arrested for exposing himself to children.

In his interview with RTL, Van B said: "Society finds these kinds of relationships damaging. I don't agree. Only in a few cases do the children suffer from them."

The radio, which said Spronck knew of Van B's role in the pedophile group but did nothing about it, quoted him as saying he "would not reject in principle (the idea of) sex with minors." Spronck later denied he had said that.

Claes said in a statement the Salesians had set up an inquiry into Van B's membership in the group. "Membership in such an association, and its views, are not consistent with our Salesian identity and educational project," he said.

Wim Deetman, head of the independent commission investigating the scandals, has said most cases happened decades ago and could no longer be prosecuted. The commission had a list of about 1,000 suspected abusers but only six had confessed their guilt.

Spain's governing Socialists suffered a crushing defeat in nationwide municipal and local elections held Sunday.

The Socialist Party, or PSOE, lost one of its traditional strongholds, the central autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, and could lose Extremadura once all the votes are tallied.

The center-right opposition Popular Party, or PP, won the municipal elections nationwide by a margin of 10 percentages points and secured a clear victory in the regional elections as well in a vote that had been widely touted as a bellwether for the general elections in March 2012.

In Castilla-La Mancha, which had been governed by the Socialists since the beginning of Spain's democracy after the Franco dictatorship, the PP obtained an absolute majority and will take over the region's governmental reins.

The leader of the Socialists in the region, Jose Maria Barreda, acknowledged the PP's triumph, calling it a "resounding" win, with the conservatives attaining an absolute majority of 27 seats in the regional legislature, compared to 22 for the PSOE.

In Extremadura, another traditional Socialist bastion, the PP was looking like the winner Sunday evening with just under 80 percent of the ballots counted, but the PSOE could still strike a deal with other political forces to retain its hold on power.

In addition, in municipal elections in Andalusia, another traditional PSOE stronghold, the conservatives prevailed by more than 7 percentage points over their socialist rivals.

With 97.33 percent of the vote in Andalusia counted, the PP obtained 39.51 percent while the PSOE garnered 32.16 percent, and those results will allow the PP to govern with an absolute majority in the region's eight major cities, given that the Socialists lost control of the city halls in Seville and Jaen, where they had been governing in coalition with the United Left party.

The Socialists also lost another of their longstanding strongholds - the city government in Barcelona - which will now pass into the hands of the moderate nationalists of the CiU.

Spain's Socialist prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, said that he will not move up the general elections scheduled for next March, and he acknowledged that his party had suffered "a very broad setback" in the local voting across the country.

He said that the results of the election have "a very clear relationship with the effects of the economic crisis" that has beset the country for three years, adding that "we accept and understand the punishment at the polls."

Zapatero said that his party will decide the schedule for the internal process to elect a new PSOE candidate for prime minister in the 2012 vote, having announced on April 2 that he would not seek a third term.

Voters went to the polls to elect mayors and councilors for four-year terms in more than 8,100 municipalities, as well as the members of the legislatures of 13 of the country's 17 regional governments, with Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country being the only exceptions.

The elections took place amid protests that began on May 15 at Madrid's Puerta del Sol square and in other Spanish cities.

Fiscal uncertainty in Spain and a cut in Italy's ratings outlook pushed Bund prices to 5-month highs

Fiscal uncertainty in Spain and a cut in Italy's ratings outlook pushed Bund prices to 5-month highs and held Spain's 10-year yields close to recent peaks on Monday, with room to rise further if a T-bill sale struggles.

Standard & Poor's cut its outlook for Italy to "negative" from "stable" on Saturday, while a crushing defeat for Spain's ruling socialists in local elections raised worries about Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodrigo Zapatero's ability to meet fiscal targets. [ID:nLDE74M0V7]

The news on two of the euro zone's fundamentally stronger fringe countries came on the back of increasing talk about a Greek debt restructuring, heightening contagion concerns.

The yield spreads between Italian and Spanish 10-year paper over benchmark German Bunds hit their widest since January at 186 basis points and 261 bps respectively, before easing slightly.

Spanish 10-year yields were 3.3 basis points higher on the day, at 5.523 percent, staying close to the upper end of this year's 5.1-5.6 percent range. A break above the range could occur in the next few days, especially if Tuesday's sale of up to 2.5 billion euros in 3- and 6-month bills disappoints.

"It is quite close to the upper end of the range and that makes it quite appealing but the risk that we get pushed out of this range is also high ... so we are rather recommending a cautious stance ... on Spanish and Italian (government bonds)," said David Schnautz, interest rate strategist at Commerzbank.

He said the auctions could be watched more closely for this reason, although he did not expect significant problems.

The main risk, he said, was that real money investors -- which typically take more time before deciding on a new position -- could trim or even close their exposure on Spain.

"The market will pay close attention to any rebalancing of real money accounts after the weekend," Schnautz said.

"Portfolio relocations could be an underlying theme of the coming days. If there's any sign of real money selling or not buying, that will be the crucial point."

KLM suspends 16 flights over ash cloud concerns

Dutch airline KLM has cancelled at least 16 flights to and from northern Britain and Scotland due to the shifting plume of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland, the company said late Monday.
"I can confirm that six flights have been suspended until 11:00 am (0900 GMT) tomorrow (Tuesday) Amsterdam time," spokeswoman Ellen van Ginkel told AFP.
"The flights were to Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh in Scotland and Newcastle in northern England," she added.
The carrier's website later listed at least 16 cancelled flights due to be flown to and from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and the affected cities.
"Affected customers will be re-booked and notified by KLM," the website said.
The Netherlands' national carrier took the decision to put flights on hold on advice from the London-based Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) and "our own findings," Van Ginkel said.
Based in nine locations around the world, the VAAC monitors the movement of volcanic ash clouds.
"We are monitoring the situation closely and will make adjustments accordingly," Van Ginkel said, without saying how many passengers were affected of if more flights were likely to be suspended.
Two days into its most powerful eruption in over a century, monitors said ash particles from the Grimsvoetn volcano had been scattered across much of Iceland, forcing the country to close its airspace Sunday.
During last year's eruption of the neighbouring Eyjafjoell volcano, more than 100,000 flights were cancelled and eight million passengers stranded, dealing a harsh blow to the airline industry, particularly in Europe.
The threat of a repeat sent airline shares across the continent tumbling Monday, with German Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, British Airways and Scandinavian airline SAS all seeing falls of around three to four percent.

 

Property firms fined €330m for fraud, forgery and tax-dodging

Some 600 building and property development firms have been fined and surcharged for trying to avoid tax on €1bn-worth of deals since 2007, according to finance ministry figures.
The building companies paid €330m in fines and back taxes following the intervention of tax and finance ministry investigators. In total, 1,291 companies were looked into.

‘If there is something wrong at half of the companies looked at, then there is something very wrong in the property sector,’ junior finance minister Frans Weekers is quoted as saying.

‘We are talking about small, medium-sized and large organisations, from estate agents and housing corporations to pension funds.’

Fraud

The biggest case investigated over the past four years is the multi-million euro fraud involving Philips pension fund and development group Bouwfonds. That case has now gone to trial.

The instances of fraud involve buying and selling property at well below market value, the use of middle men to bump up prices, and fake or unrealistic bills.

The tax office is to continue cracking down on the sector, with particular focus on financial directors, real estate agents and property lawyers.

'I have told the tax office to continue its tough approach,' Weekers is quoted as saying in the NRC. 'Abuse will not be tolerated.

 

Goldsmiths suspected in €500 million tax scam

An alleged tax fraud in Italy worth tens of millions of euros perpetrated by goldsmiths in northern Italy was uncovered by police in the the wealthy northeastern Veneto region.
Police on Thursday announced that nine people directly involved in the goldsmith industry and three others may face charges of falsifying 500 million euros in receipts enabling them to dodge 40 million euros in tax payments.
Suspects in the city of Vicenza doctored inventory records with the aim of not declaring the existence of around one tonne of high-quality gold, police said on Thursday.
During the probe, investigators say they also uncovered a 5 million-euro tax evasion scam linked to the sale of a luxury villa belonging to Russians in Porto Rotondo on the island of Sardinia.

 

‘abroad fraud’, where Britons claim benefits back home while living in Spain, is a problem that refuses to go away.

‘abroad fraud’, where Britons claim benefits back home while living in Spain, is a problem that refuses to go away.
Such a big problem, in fact – estimated at 80 million euros a year – that the UK authorities are launching a fresh purge on the problem, joining forces with their counterparts overseas to find new ways of addressing benefit fraud.
Fraud investigators at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are working alongside the land registries, the Foreign Office and UK banks to identify offenders.
“We are determined to clamp down on benefit fraud abroad,” a DWP spokesman told the Olive Press.
“This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves on taxpayers’ money,” she added.
Top benefit scams
1. People not declaring that they have moved abroad
2. Unreported deaths – where relatives or other third parties continue to claim
3. Working overseas
4. Unreported assets – such as properties, savings or even yachts
5. Exaggerated disability
The problem, of course, is not just confined to Spain, with other European countries including Greece and long-haul destinations, such as America and Thailand, also housing numerous fraudsters looking to go unnoticed.


But it is in Spain, and particular the Costas, that has the unwelcome distinction of having the highest number of offenders.
In one case, a woman from Sussex pocketed nearly 19,000 euros in benefits over a two-year period in the UK, despite living in Spain.
Georgia Parsons legitimately claimed housing benefit and council tax benefit on a rented flat in Brighton, but then sub-let the property while she stayed at the infamous alternative commune called Beneficio – ironically, the name itself a play on words meaning ‘benefit’ – near Orgiva, in the Alpujarras region.
Parsons was handed a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, following the scam which involved forging a letter from her landlord to convince council officials that her tenancy had been extended.
The single mother started claiming for the flat in 2005 but council officials believe she had been living in Spain since 2006.
Another Briton, who has lived in Fuengirola for the last eight years and wished to remain anonymous, summed up the extent of the problem and the size of the task facing the authorities.
Away day fraud
ONE British benefit cheat living in Spain, Robert Telford, pleaded guilty in March to receiving overpayments of income support and pension credit amounting to 31,000 euros over a period of three and a half years.
He must now repay all of the overpaid benefit, and was sentenced to a 12 month Community Order for 120 hours of unpaid work.
“I know of people who are claiming benefits fraudulently down here, it is very common, and plenty of them boast about doing it” he said.
Another local resident – who also begged to remain anonymous – added: “Some of them will go hobbling along to collect their disability allowance and then you’ll see them walking around on another day without a care in the world.”
One pensioner told the BBC last year: “There’s people I know who claim disability allowance who certainly go into the local offices in wheelchairs who you can see down here dancing in the winter months.”
Another man told the same program that he had lived in Spain for years and had found it easy to fund his lifestyle with illegal handouts.
He explained how he got help after answering an advert in a newspaper that offered to help people to fill in claim forms.
The clue of getting benefits was to know how to fill in the forms. To know what to put down.
“This guy had a business where he filled in the forms for you,” explained the pensioner. “He didn’t only get you your benefits, but back-pay as well.”
For this is how the system works… the so-called ‘needy’, filling out forms using professionals, and then turning up once a month at post offices to collect their giro, which they can then put in their accounts.
But the noose is tightening. The DWP team in Spain continues to grow, as much to help expat residents, it should be stressed, as to clamp down on fraud.
There are currently six people working in the department at the British consulate general in Madrid, dealing with pensions, benefits and welfare.
Boss Hannah Thronicker told the Olive Press she believes, in some cases, claimants are inadvertently committing fraud without realising it.
“Some people choose not to inform the DWP of changes to their circumstances, while others get themselves into a situation where they are unwittingly committing benefit fraud,” she said.
“The longer people put it off, the worse it gets, so people should contact the authorities if they are unsure about what they need to declare. The fraud line is confidential so anyone with concerns about reporting a benefit cheat can be assured that their anonymity will be protected,” she added.
Benefit claimants must tell the authorities if they are planning to go abroad.
Those who claim benefits that they are not entitled to while abroad could face prosecution, imprisonment or the confiscation of their home and possessions.
“We call on British residents and visitors in Andalucia and other parts of Spain to cooperate with the authorities if they know or hear of anyone claiming benefits to which they are not entitled to,” the DWP spokesman added.
The Olive Press launched its ‘Beat the Cheats’ campaign after appealling for information on Briton Robert Brennan, who fled to Spain after being convicted of a 130,000 euro benefit fraud back in the UK. We are calling on readers to bring more cheats like him to justice.

Thousands of young people camped out overnight in the main square of Madrid to protest against high unemployment and the Spanish government's austerity measures.

Thousands of young people camped out overnight in the main square of Madrid to protest against high unemployment and the Spanish government's austerity measures.

The demonstrations who woke Saturday in Puerta del Sol plaza had made up on the largest crowd yet in nearly a full week of protests.

The demonstration was deemed illegal, but by morning, the number of protesters had thinned enough to allow cleaners in and traffic to flow as the sun rose.

Police say 25,000 protesters defied the ban, cramming into the square and filling the streets nearby.

There was a moment of quiet at midnight as the ban went into effect. Then the crowd erupted in jeers, cheers and chanting.

All of this began as a spontaneous sit-in in the centre of the capital by young people who are frustrated by mass employment and what they say are inept politicians.

Youth unemployment in Spain is at 45 percent. Overall, the country has a jobless rate of 21.3 per cent, the highest in the eurozone.

Since last Sunday, hundreds of young Spaniards have camped out in the square nightly, and by day, the square has been the scene of animated debates.

Spain's electoral board ruled the camp should have been disbanded at midnight to allow for what is normally called a "day of reflection," when campaigning and political acts are banned the day before regional and local elections.

So far police have not intervened and the protests have grown larger by the day.

A cruise ship crew member is presumed dead after he disappeared when he jumped from the vessel into the freezing waters of the English Channel.

A cruise ship crew member is presumed dead after he disappeared when he jumped from the vessel into the freezing waters of the English Channel.
Eclipse was believed to have been en route from Cherbourg to Southampton
An overnight search for the 31-year-old Filipino man has been called off.
It has been revealed he was captured on CCTV climbing over a railing and jumping from the Celebrity Eclipse cruiser about 10.15pm on Friday.
The luxury liner, owned by Celebrity Cruises, was about eight miles north of Cherbourg, France, when the incident happened.
The crew alerted the French coastguard before turning the ship around in an attempt to find the man.
We can now presume that he is dead. The water was very cold and there is no hope for him.
A coastguard source
A Celebrity Cruises spokesman said the travel company was providing support to the missing man's family, as well as his friends and colleagues onboard.
He added: "Our thoughts and prayers are with them."
The ship was on a 14-night Italian Mediterranean cruise that left Southampton
on May 7.
A coastguard source said: "Unfortunately there was a man in the sea. We searched for him extensively but we could not find him.
"We deployed our resources to find him but it was to no avail and we can now presume that he is dead.
"The water was very cold and there is no hope for him."
Celebrity Cruises offer trips around Europe and the Mediterranean, with cruises ranging from eight to 14 nights.
The Eclipse cruiser, a Solstice class vessel, joined the fleet last year, according to the company's website.
Facilities aboard the ship include a basketball court and an upper deck laid with lawn.
The shipping company is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

AP Moller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world's largest container shipping company, CMA CGM SA and Hapag-Lloyd AG are among companies raided by European Union antitrust officials over possible collusion.

AP Moller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world's largest container shipping company, CMA CGM SA and Hapag-Lloyd AG are among companies raided by European Union antitrust officials over possible collusion.

The European Commission made unannounced inspections at the offices of companies active in "container liner shipping in several member states," it said in an e-mailed statement today. It didn't name the companies involved.

EU regulators said they had "reason to believe" that the companies may have breached EU cartel or monopoly-abuse rules. The raid doesn't mean that the companies are guilty of anti- competitive behavior, the commission said.

The container industry returned to profit last year as volumes and freight rates recovered. Maersk said on May 11 that while freight rates will be under pressure in the "short term," the market will improve in the second half of the year.

Maersk will "fully cooperate with the Commission's employees to investigate the matter thoroughly," Christian Kledal, the head of Maersk's legal group, said in an e-mailed statement. The company's "practices are in compliance with EU competition legislation," he said.

Hapag-Lloyd, the shipping company owned by TUI AG and Albert Ballin GmbH, said it is also under investigation.

Hapag said in a statement that regulators were checking whether companies have breached antitrust rules since October 2008 when the EU ended immunity to deals, known as liner shipping conference agreements, that fixed prices for almost two decades.

Hamburg Sued

CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping company, is also part of the EU probe, it said in an e-mailed statement. The closely held Marseille-based company said it's cooperating with regulators.

Hamburg Sued was raided by commission officials today and is fully cooperating with them, Eva Graumann, a spokeswoman for the Hamburg-based company said in a phone interview.

Neptune Orient Lines Limited, Southeast Asia's largest shipping line, said EU officials visited its Uxbridge, England, offices. NOL is cooperating with regulators and "believes that it is in compliance with the anti-competition regulators," it said in a statement.

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and United Arab Shipping said they weren't raided.

Maersk Line, which owns or charters more than 500 ships, has vessel-sharing agreements with CMA CGM and Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Co., the world's second-biggest container line. Under such deals, shipping lines can buy space on competitors' ships to reduce costs.

Maersk and CMA CGM are both members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, which works to "develop voluntary, non-binding guidelines for rates and charges," according to its website.

Mediterranean Shipping declined to immediately comment.

European Union countries presented plans to curb the short-selling of government debt and shares

European Union countries presented plans to curb the short-selling of government debt and shares Tuesday, as the bloc edged closer to tighter controls on speculators many blame for compounding the credit crisis.

The proposal, to allow a European watchdog to halt some trading and impose restrictions on the short-selling of state debt and company shares, will be the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament, which is demanding stricter rules.

The regime will require investors to reveal big short-selling positions to regulators and empower an EU watchdog to ask for sensitive information and temporarily stop short-selling. EU countries will, however, be allowed veto such a ban.

If both parliament and EU member countries reach agreement, the law could be in place by the end of this year.

"We had major issues particularly with Greece where clearly there were significant (market) movements totally unidentified," France's Christine Lagarde told a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels.

"We are trying with this piece of legislation to remedy that situation."

Gyorgy Matolcsy, the Hungarian finance minister who brokered the agreement between the EU member states, said: "The compromise delivers on the key objectives of transparency, a permanent ban on naked short-selling and the reinforcement of supervisory authorities."

Although he highlighted a ban on naked short-selling, where the seller does not own nor has borrowed the shares he has promised to sell, traders will still be able to do so, provided they show a reasonable chance of getting the securities to close the deal.

The European Parliament wants to take a harder line by including a measure to ban outright "naked" selling of default insurance or credit default swaps (CDS) for country debt. But EU member states are unlikely to back this and some EU officials expect a compromise to be agreed.

Naked selling refers to buying a CDS contract, a type of tradeable insurance to cover default, without owning the underlying government debt.

I.M.F. Chief May Claim Consensual Sex as a Defense

As Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, spent his first full day on Rikers Island, the hotel housekeeper who accused him of sexual assault was struggling with what her lawyer said was a life upended by the case.

The woman, 32, a widowed immigrant from Guinea who was granted asylum seven years ago, has not been publicly identified and has made no public statements about what prosecutors have charged was an attack by Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a 62-year-old Frenchman, as she prepared to clean his hotel room on Saturday.

But her lawyer said she had been unable to return to her job at the Sofitel New York or to her home, as both had attracted swarms of international news media.

And as she remained in seclusion, there were suggestions that Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a powerful, wealthy politician who was widely regarded as a strong candidate to run against the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, next year, would put forward a defense that any sex had been consensual.

During a hearing on Monday in Criminal Court in Manhattan, a lawyer for Mr. Strauss-Kahn, Benjamin Brafman, told a judge he believed the “forensic evidence” was “not consistent with forcible encounter.”

Mr. Brafman did not disclose what forensic evidence he was referring to, or even if he had been apprised about what forensic evidence the prosecution had collected. Even so, that statement seemed to suggest the defense may acknowledge that a sexual encounter had occurred.

Indeed, on Tuesday, a person briefed on the case said the defense believed that any sex act may have been consensual.

That elicited an angry response from a lawyer for the woman. He dismissed any suggestion that the housekeeper, whom he described as “a very proper, dignified young woman,” had agreed to have sex with Mr. Strauss-Kahn.

“There is no question this was not consensual — she was assaulted and she had to escape from him, which is why when she finally got out of the room, she reported it to security immediately,” said the lawyer, Jeffrey J. Shapiro. “It doesn’t matter what Mr. Brafman says, and it doesn’t matter what the defendant says. Her story is her story, which she has told to everyone who asked her, and she is telling the truth. She has no agenda.”

Mr. Shapiro said his client “did not even know who this guy was” until she saw news accounts, adding, “She is a simple housekeeper who was going into a room to clean a room.”

A man who said he was the housekeeper’s brother said his sister did not know Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s identity when she reported the events to the hotel and, later, to police. The man, who manages a restaurant in Harlem, said she did not learn of Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s status until pictures of him appeared in the news.

He said he had called his sister several times on Saturday afternoon, but she did not answer the phone. She eventually called him back from a police station, he said.

“She just told me that something really bad had happened and that she was with the police and the doctors,” he said. 

The woman, who does not have a formal education, emigrated from Guinea with her daughter, leaving that country under what Mr. Shapiro said he understood were “difficult circumstances.” The lawyer said she sought and was granted asylum in the United States, although he said he was unsure of her immigration status.

The woman, who speaks French and some English, is a widow, though the lawyer said he was unaware of the timing or the circumstances of her husband’s death.

Mr. Shapiro said his client was very proud of her job, which she had held for three years, and the ability it gave her to support herself and her 15-year-old daughter.

“She would have done nothing to jeopardize this job,” he said. “She needs this job; this job was her lifeline. She is not a woman of resources; she is not a woman of pretense. She is just a simple woman who is grateful to have a job where she can provide food and shelter for herself and her daughter.”

His client, he said, has enormous pride, and is unsure what her life will be like going forward.

“The fact of the matter is this is a situation that she didn’t choose,” the lawyer said. “She’s been victimized not only by what happened in that hotel room but by the fact that her life has been taken away from her for who knows how long.”

No lawsuit, he said, had been considered or discussed.

The case, Mr. Shapiro added, has turned the woman’s life upside down; she has been isolated from her life and her routines.

 

The IFA has sought an urgent meeting with the Minister for Enterprise, Richard Bruton

The IFA has sought an urgent meeting with the Minister for Enterprise, Richard Bruton, following the raid by the Competition Authority on the organisation's headquarters in Dublin last Friday.

Farm officials were left stunned when 16 officials from the Competition Authority and the Garda arrived with search warrants (right) at the IFA's nerve centre in west Dublin at 10am last Friday.

For the next six hours, IT experts and officials from the Authority, backed up by a detective sergeant from the Garda Fraud Squad, carried out a forensic sweep of the second floor offices at the Farm Centre.

Members of the IFA's executive staff, including general secretary Pat Smith, elected representatives such as president John Bryan and several staff secretaries, were questioned during the operation.

Computer hard drives were seized, along with five boxes of files and minutes of meetings, one desktop and two laptop computers, and at least two mobile phones belonging to the secretary general and the financial controller.

"You really don't have the authority to say no to these guys," said one senior staff member. "You can protest as much as you like, but if they deem it relevant, they can take what they want."

The Competition Authority said that it would be two weeks before any of the seized property would be returned and only if it was not classified as evidence in any subsequent court proceedings.

The warrant issued for the search stated that "the Irish Farmers' Association ... has made the decision to directly or indirectly fix selling prices ... of liquid milk products ... contrary to section 4 of the [Competition] Act".

Dairy farmers had protested at Dublin branches of Iceland in March. The retailer refused to comment when contacted.

No formal statements were taken during the search, although it is believed that key officials will be summoned for in-depth interviews after the Competition Authority has had time to pour over the evidence they amassed from the raid.

The IFA is no stranger to clashes with the Competition Authority, with several members brought to court by the State agency following protests at Convoy Dairies in Donegal in October 2000 and Drogheda Port two years later.

However, with the threat of legal action now imminent, the organisation is facing legal fees that could easily run into hundreds of thousands of euro, according to one Farm Centre source.

"The fact that they raided the Farm Centre shows that they want to nail the IFA corporately," said a staff member.

IFA president John Bryan said that he is now seeking a meeting with Minister Bruton to progress the Code of Practice for the retail sector: "We need to see a Code of Practice in place backed up by statutory legislation.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be sitting in a Rikers Island jail cell on charges of sexual assault, but officially, he's still managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrest can't distract EU from Greece
That hasn't stopped governments around the world from looking for a successor.

The list of possible replacements is already long – and also indicates that the jockeying for Mr. Strauss-Kahn's post could be contentious and full of conflict. What's more, non-European candidates may be making a strong run for the position.

There's French Economy minister Christine Lagarde. She's known as a competent and smooth operator, but she is the object of a corruption investigation in France. Then there is Peer Steinbrück, former German Finance minister who has been credited with helping consolidate Germany's budget. He is also famously short-tempered. Kemal Dervis is another name on the list, the former Turkish Finance minister steered his country successfully through a financial crisis in 2001.

RECOMMENDED: French outrage over 'inhumane' treatment of Strauss-Kahn highlights culture clash

Europe (mainly France) has traditionally occupied the seat at the top of the IMF. In return, the US gets the post of World Bank director. But with the global economic balance shifting, up-and-coming economies from outside the EU are demanding a bigger say.

The selection process for a new IMF director should be based on fairness, transparency, and performance, says Jiang Yu, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. India, Mexico, and South Africa all have their own candidates ready. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that now is not the time for Europe to let go.

"We know that in the medium term, the emerging markets have a right to the top positions at the IMF and the World Bank," she said Monday in Berlin. "But in the current situation Europe is well advised to have its own candidates."

Officially, the 24-member IMF executive directors elect the person for the top spot. In reality, however, they act on behalf of national governments, and the power balance among them reflects a Western dominance. Nine of them are European, and the US representative's vote counts as four.

AFTER Labour had lost the General Election but before the coalition, Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor, signed us up to the EU Financial Stability Mechanism, a bail-out fund designed to prop up the euro.

AFTER Labour had lost the General Election but before the coalition, Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor, signed us up to the EU Financial Stability Mechanism, a bail-out fund designed to prop up the euro. That is why, despite being £1trillion in debt ourselves, we may be forced to hand money over to Greece so the Greeks can carry on spending. That is a national scandal and Darling should be ashamed.

Multi-million euro cork fraud tried

This week the Santa Maria da Feira judicial tribunal will begin hearing 98 of almost 260 suspects accused of being involved in a tax fraud scheme within the cork industry and who are believed to have swindled the State of €48 million by issuing fake invoices.

Due to the high number of suspects involved in the trial, the court proceedings will take place in a Sport Pavilion belonging to the Ovar voluntary fire-brigade.

Three court dates have been scheduled to try all of the 260 suspects, the first of which will take place this week. A second trial will be held for another 90 suspects, followed by a third court session in which 60 suspects will be heard.

The trials are the outcome of an investigation launched by the PJ police in 2004.

As part of the process the court will determine the authenticity of IVA and IRC tax claims made by the various individuals and companies involved in the trial.

The majority stand accused of tax fraud.

David Cameron has announced that 400 British troops will withdraw from Afghanistan this year

David Cameron has announced that 400 British troops will withdraw from Afghanistan this year in the first stage of his plan to remove all UK combat troops by the end of 2014.

The move, given greater urgency by the killing of Osama bin Laden, had been initially resisted by defence chiefs. Cameron made the announcement to MPs on Tuesday in advance of President Obama's state visit to the UK next week.

Speaking to the liaison committee of MPs, Cameron also pledged to bring in a legally binding target for spending on overseas aid, despite objections by the defence secretary, Liam Fox.

He said legislation would be tabled in the current parliament to increase aid to 0.7% of gross national income by 2013, adding that it was in the UK's interest to honour the commitment made in the coalition agreement with the Liberal Democrats. "I profoundly think it is the right thing to do because we have duty to the poorest in our world even at times of hardship at home," he said.

Cameron denied reports that Obama or the Pentagon was unhappy about the withdrawal announcement, saying overall UK troop levels in Afghanistan would remain at 9,500, after a recent temporary increase.

Cameron said: "I am sure the Americans completely understand that it is rather less than the reductions they are planning and we remain in one of the toughest parts of the country doing one of the most difficult jobs. We are the second biggest contributor, after the United States."

The troops due to be withdrawn will come from those covering Kandahar airport and some based at headquarters.

Cameron urged the Americans not to walk away from Pakistan in response to the discovery that Bin Laden had been living in a garrison city that houses the country's officer training academy. He said: "It is absolutely in our interests to back the democratic politicians of Pakistan in their fight against terrorism. To do that we need to understand the pressures they are under and all the questions they are being asked in their country, but they need to understand the pressure we are under with everybody saying, 'How could they not have known?'"

EU governments agreed on Tuesday to tighten sanctions against the Syrian leadership

EU governments agreed on Tuesday to tighten sanctions against the Syrian leadership but will make a formal decision next week about whether to impose them on President Bashar al-Assad, diplomats said.

The European Union decided last week to impose sanctions, such as travel bans and asset freezes, on 13 of Assad's closest allies in response to a violent crackdown on pro-reform protests on top of an arms embargo already in place against Syria.

Britain and France, which are among the EU's main powerbrokers, have pushed for the inclusion of the Syrian president on EU lists of officials affected by sanctions.

But the failure to include him so far underlines divisions among the bloc's 27 members over the effectiveness of sanctions in restraining his government's violent actions.

EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels next week, are expected to formally approve a new list of around a dozen sanctioned officials, which ambassadors of EU governments drew up on Tuesday.

"There was consensus today on taking further measures by adding new individuals to the EU list, but the list has to be adopted by ministers next week," one diplomat said.

Rights groups say hundreds of people have been killed during two months of pro-democracy unrest in Syria so far.

Syrian authorities have blamed most of the violence on armed groups backed by Islamists and outside powers, who they say have killed more than 120 members of the security forces.

Can the stranglehold of Big Four auditors be broken

The competition watchdog said "there are competition problems in the audit market", and added that it could ask the Competition Commission to conduct a detailed investigation, because the "statutory test" for a reference to the Commission had been passed.

But although the OFT has deep concerns about the stranglehold of the Big Four accounting firms over the business of auditing big companies, it is not quite sure what the remedies might be.

Here's the basic problem. The dominance of the Big Four - PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG - is a global phenomenon, rather than an exclusively British one. And the OFT's remit, and that of the Competition Commission, is wholly domestic.

What's more there is no global body for dealing with competition problems.

To be clear, as a British phenomenon it is pretty pronounced phenomenon: in 2009, the Big Four received 100% of all audit fees paid by FTSE100 companies (the UK's largest listed businesses) and 98% of the next tier, the FTSE250 businesses. One firm PwC on its own received a staggering 47% of FTSE audit fees.

For the OFT, the Big Four's stranglehold, combined with relatively low rates of switching between them by corporate clients, means that fees are probably higher than they ought to be, for services that are perceived to be pretty bog standard.

And what's particularly odd for firms that ought to feel secure in their earnings, the auditors don't appear to be as aggressive as they might be in forcing companies to disclose the risks they run. Or at least that would appear to be a legitimate conclusion of how the Big Four failed to disclose the reckless lending and investing of banks in the boom years before the great banking crash of 2008.

So what would happen if - for example - the Competition ordered PWC to break itself up, which is something that it might well end up doing, according to my sources.

Well, that would not necessarily lead to a step change in competition.

The reason is that the break-up would apply only to the UK arm of PwC. And the bit of PwC in the UK that remained attached to PWC's overseas network would still have a massive advantage over competitors, because PWC's British-based multinational clients - the likes of Barclays, Tesco and BT - would presumably stick with the international network able to audit all their subsidiaries and branches, rather than employing a British firm without global capability.

The bit of PWC forcibly hived off might well wither and die quite quickly, or simply specialise in auditing smaller companies (where there is less of a competition problem, in any case).

All of which leaves the OFT feeling a bit non-plussed.

In the absence of possible remedies, the OFT doesn't yet want to put the Competition Commission and the accounting firms to all the cost and bother of a lengthy and expensive probe.

It will therefore conduct a review of whether "there is a reasonable chance that appropriate remedies will be available to the Competition Commission."

 

8 million euro is being refunded to bank customers who made ATM withdrawals without taking any cash.

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has announced 71,000 people will be paid back the money owed from a period covering more than seven years, with compensatory interest.

It revealed some customers were debited for some ATM cash withdrawals between 2003 and 2010, even though they did not take the cash which was dispensed by the ATM.

An AIB spokesperson said an undisclosed donation will also be made to charity in lieu of several unidentified customers whose accounts were debited as far back as 1995.

The bank said the problem arose as a result of the introduction of anti-fraud measures which prevented the automatic processing of refunds for these particular transactions.

"Process and procedure changes have now been put in place to prevent a reoccurrence," it added.

Some 5.1 million euro will be refunded to 41,000 of its own account holders, with 3.2 million euro paid to 30,000 non-AIB customers.

AIB has apologised and is writing to its cardholders who have been impacted by this problem to inform them of the amount of their refund.

Other banks are also arranging for the AIB refunds to be credited to their customers.

There were a total of 57 million transactions from AIB's 783 ATM machines nationwide in 2010, totalling 7.7 billion euro

The maid who claims that Dominique Strauss–Kahn sexually assaulted her at an upmarket New York hotel has been named by the French media.

The woman is a 32-year-old West African immigrant who is married and has a 16-year-old daughter.
Her 43-year-old brother described her as a "wonderful, hard-working woman" who loved her job and had been left devastated by what happened.
The woman's brother, in interviews with the American media, refused to say where his sister was but confirmed she was "safe".
"No family should have to go through this," he added.
The 43-year-old, who runs a cafe in Harlem, said his sister contacted him soon after the incident.

"She rang me and she said 'somebody has done something really bad to me, I've been attacked'," he said. "She was crying all the time".
He said his sister was "a hardworking woman who's just a victim" but added that he was confident that despite the alleged perpetrator's fame, she would get justice.
"This is America. Justice will be served," he said. "That's why we love America."
Neighbours who live near the alleged victim in her working-class neighbourhood in the Bronx said she was soft-spoken and kept to herself.
"She's very shy, she's very quiet," said Mark Gangadeen, head of the tenants' association at the six-story brick building where the woman lives.
If the incident had happened in Britain, the Sexual Offences Act would protect the identify of any victim of such an assault. Because the case is abroad, there is no legal reason why she cannot be named in this country.
In New York, there is no law protecting the identity of sexual offence victims but the media do not identify them by convention.
However the French media, including reputable magazine Paris Match, had no such qualms.
"No one has yet seen her," the magazine reports on its website. "She is under police protection in a secret location... In the United States, no one is mentioning her identity as is often the case with this kind of incident."
Varying reports say she is from Ghana, Senegal and Guinea, and lived on the fourth floor of a red brick apartment block in the Bronx. Neighbours there said she was a devout muslim who wore a headscarf and worked long hours at the Sofitel Hotel.
According to a close friend, she had no idea who the man she alleges attacked her was, and only discovered that he was the head of the International Monetary Fund while watching the news on television that evening. "She has spent two days crying," the friend added.