After more than two decades of steady service, the EU’s core antitrust enforcement framework is due for a refresh, and this time, the European Commission isn’t going it alone. It wants feedback from businesses, legal experts, competition authorities, and anyone else who has a stake in how the EU tackles anti-competitive behavior in an increasingly digital economy.
A federal judge has ordered CVS Health to pay nearly $950 million in penalties and damages after its Omnicare unit was found to have illegally billed government healthcare programs for prescription drugs that weren’t properly authorized. The massive award stems from a whistleblower case that uncovered years of fraudulent dispensing practices tied to more than 3.3 million false claims.
Harman International Industries, the U.S.-based electronics company behind well-known audio brands, has agreed to pay $1.45 million to settle apparent violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran—violations that, according to regulators, were knowingly enabled by the company’s overseas staff and overlooked due to a lack of internal controls.
The Bank of England has recently fined Vocalink Limited £11.9 million for failing to comply with a formal direction aimed at strengthening its risk and control framework, marking the first time the central bank has levied a fine against a financial market infrastructure firm under the Banking Act 2009.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division recently announced a new Whistleblower Rewards Program in partnership with the United States Postal Service. The initiative marks the first time the Antitrust Division will offer financial incentives to individuals who report antitrust crimes and related offenses — with potential rewards reaching up to 30% of the criminal fines recovered in applicable cases.
Stantec Inc., a Canadian-based environmental and engineering firm, has agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing others to submit, false certifications in applications for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Assessment Grants.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Monzo Bank £21,091,300 for serious and repeated failures in its financial crime controls, citing deficiencies in the digital bank’s customer onboarding, risk assessment, and transaction monitoring systems between 2018 and 2022.