Business

Panama court acquits 28 people tied to Panama Papers, Operation Car Wash By Reuters

Published

3 days ago

June 29, 2024

Reuters

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – A Panamanian court has acquitted 28 people charged with money-laundering under cases linked to the Panama Papers and “Operation Car Wash” scandals, the country’s judicial branch said in a statement on Friday.

It did not provide names of the people who were acquitted.

Judge Baloisa Marquinez ordered that precautionary measures be lifted against all the defendants, and said one criminal process was now canceled due to the death of an unnamed defendant.

Ramon Fonseca, who co-founded now defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca alongside German national Jurgen Mossack, died in May after being hospitalized since early April.

Mossack Fonseca entered the spotlight in 2016 after leaked confidential documents exposed accounts housed in tax havens linked to individuals including former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Argentine football star Lionel Messi.

Marquinez, who also ordered fines of 100 balboas ($100) each on 10 witnesses who did not comply with summonses, said evidence collected from Mossack Fonseca’s servers did not comply with the chain of custody.

Regarding Operation Car Wash, a massive anti-corruption probe that originated in Brazil, Marquinez ruled that it could not be determined that money from illicit sources had entered Panama from Brazil with the purpose of helping conceal crimes.

The investigation, which began in 2014, exposed sprawling corruption schemes across the region and sent dozens of Latin American political and business leaders to jail, including several former presidents.

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Business

Ad-supported Murdoch Netflix rival to launch in the UK

Published

4 hours ago

July 2, 2024

João da Silva

Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation is entering the UK’s highly competitive free, ad-supported video streaming market.

Tubi will compete with the likes of Netflix, Disney+, ITVX, Channel 4’s streaming platform as well as the BBC iPlayer.

The platform has been quickly gaining market share in the US where, according to Fox, it has almost 80 million monthly active users.

In the UK, Tubi says it will offer more than 20,000 films and TV series, including content from Disney, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The platform will also include a selection of British, Indian and Nigerian content.

UK viewers will be able to access content on the Tubi webpage and via a smartphone app.

Fox Corporation bought Tubi in 2020 for $440m (£348m) as the US media giant looked to attract younger audiences.

In recent years, streaming companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ have launched ad-supported services and raised subscription prices as they tried to boost revenues.

The moves came as they faced pressure to spend more money to grow their libraries of content as they try to attract more customers in an increasingly competitive market.

In March, Mr Murdoch’s TalkTV network announced that it would stop broadcasting as a terrestrial television channel and became a strictly online service.

The network launched in 2022 but struggled to attract viewers on its linear platform.

Mr Murdoch had hoped the network would shake up the broadcasting establishment by offering an opinion-led alternative to established outlets.

The media tycoon played a pivotal role in the development of the UK’s broadcasting industry by launching Sky in 1984.

Some commentators saw TalkTV as an attempt by Mr Murdoch to recreate his success with Sky.

Mr Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox sold its 39% stake in Sky to NBCUniversal’s owner Comcast in 2018 after losing a battle for control of the network.

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Business

Biden knocks Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity By Reuters

Published

8 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Reuters

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday criticized the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that was seen as a win for his rival, former President Donald Trump, in forceful remarks from the White House.

The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can be for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.

“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” Biden said, adding that no one is above the law. With the Supreme Court decision, he said, “That fundamentally changed.”

Biden is running for re-election against Trump and has been sharply critical of his rival’s actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, raid on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters, who believed Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 election.

© Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center Grand Opening Ceremony at the Stonewall Inn to mark the 55th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, New York, U.S., June 28, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Biden, 81, was making his first set of remarks at the White House since his shaky debate against Trump last week led to calls for him to step aside as the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer for the election.

After he stumbled over his words on the Atlanta debate stage, his remarks and comportment will be scrutinized for signs that he is up to the job of running for re-election and of governing the country for four more years.

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