WikiLeaks cables: Julian Assange says his life is 'under threat'
• WikiLeaks founder says Swedish rape case is 'a travesty'
• Bank of America blocks WikiLeaks payments
- guardian.co.uk, Saturday 18 December 2010 16.54 GMT
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives back at Ellingham Hall, Norfolk, on Saturday. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty ImagesJulian Assange said today his life and the lives of his colleagues at the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks are under threat.
Speaking to reporters outside Ellingham Hall, the Norfolk house at which he is staying following his release on bail from prison, Assange said: "There is a threat to my life. There is a threat to my staff. There are significant risks facing us."
Assange is wanted in Sweden, after he was accused of committing sex offences. He denies the allegations and his lawyers have accused the Swedish authorities of waging a "vendetta".
He was initially remanded in custody but freed from prison on Thursday after a judge granted bail pending a court ruling on extradition to Sweden.
Assange said: "The case in Sweden is a travesty. No person should be exposed to that type of investigation and persecution.
"I have seen a statement from one of the witnesses that she was bamboozled ... I have heard a rumour that one has withdrawn her statement."
Meanwhile, Bank of America has become the latest financial institution to refuse to handle payments for WikiLeaks.
The bank released a statement saying it will no longer process any transactions that it believes are intended for the site, which has released thousands of secret US diplomatic cables.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.
The action comes as WikiLeaks says it plans to release information about banks.
Other financial institutions, including MasterCard and PayPal, have also stopped handling payments for the site.
In response to the bank's announcement, WikiLeaks issued a message on Twitter urging its supporters to leave the bank.
"We ask that all people who love freedom close out their accounts at Bank of America," it said.
"Our advice is to place your funds somewhere safer," the organisation said in another post.
Assange told Forbes magazine last month that the data on banks would show "unethical practices".
Bank of America agrees to $140m fraud settlement
Updated
Bank of America admitted its employees had rigged bids in their marketing of financial contracts linked to municipal bonds. (ABC News: Giulio Saggin, file photo)
The largest bank in the United States, Bank of America, has agreed to pay nearly $140 million to settle a fraud case with the US Department of Justice.
Bank of America admitted its employees had rigged bids in their marketing of financial contracts linked to municipal bonds.
The settlement follows a four-year investigation by US authorities into anti-competitive practices in the sale of investment agreements linked to the bonds.
Municipal bonds are sold by government departments, local councils and non-profit groups in the US to raise money for their services, such as schools and roads.
The US Department of Justice says Bank of America employees were involved in illegal conduct, including a conspiracy to rig bids on investments linked to the bonds.
So far eight executives from financial institutions, including Bank of America, have pleaded guilty to criminal charges brought by the department.
It says the bank was the only financial institution to voluntarily come forward before the investigation started.
The company was granted amnesty from prosecution in return for its cooperation in the investigation.
The assistant attorney-general in charge of the department's antitrust division, Christine Varney, says the investigation into fraud in the mortgage bond industry is continuing.
"Bank of America's disclosure of wrongdoing and cooperation has led to an aggressive ongoing investigation by the department into anti-competitive activity in the municipal bond derivatives industry," she said in a statement.
"The prosecution of anti-competitive conduct in the financial markets remains our highest priority."
The bank said it was pleased to put the issue behind it.
"Bank of America continues to cooperate with all agencies on their inquiries," it said in a statement.
Earlier this year, US investment bank Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $550 million to settle fraud charges brought by the US corporate regulator in relation to a subprime mortgage-linked investment.
Professor of finance at the University of New South Wales, Fariborz Moshirian, says settlement by financial companies in US fraud cases is now routine.
He says court action had not deterred offenders in the past.
"The Bank of America accepted they have done something illegal and also it is significant because the Bank of America is trying to settle all other challenges they are facing with the Department of Justice," he said.
Professor Moshirian says the department's Antitrust Corporate Leniency Program has encouraged companies to provide information to the Department of Justice.
"It could assist the justice department to identify other major banks which were engaged in similar fraud activities," he said.
First posted
>via: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/08/3088361.htm?section=justin
Bank of America appeals $595 million Lehman ruling
WILMINGTON, Delaware |
(Reuters) - Bank of America (BAC.N) has appealed a bankruptcy court order that it must pay Lehman Brothers Holding Inc (LEHMQ.PK) about $595 million, according to court documents.
The bank said in papers filed on Wednesday it would post a $660 million bond and asked the court to stay the enforcement of the ruling.
A hearing on the issue is set for January 19, according to court documents.
In November, Judge James Peck ruled that Bank of America violated federal law when it "brazenly" seized $500 million of Lehman's deposits, taking advantage of Lehman's weakened condition in the summer of 2008.
The judge later ruled the bank must also pay interest, which brought the total to about $595 million.
The decision was a victory for Lehman as it tries to repay creditors still owed hundreds of billions of dollars following its September 15, 2008, bankruptcy.
A Lehman Brothers spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment.
The case is In re: Bank of America NA vs Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-ap-01753.
The main bankruptcy case is In re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc in the same court, 08-13555.
(Reporting by Tom Hals; additional reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
>via: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BF2UM20101216