Legal & Regulatory
Exxon Mobil is fined $2.63 million
The United States court finally comes out with the verdict regarding Exxon Mobil Corp oil spill in 2013. The fine was issued by the U.S. pipeline safety office ordering the oil giant to pay a total of $2.63 million for spilling the crude oil in Arkansas residential Area.
US freezes assets of Islamic State supporters
The United States imposes sanctions upon 30 individuals and groups linked to the Islamic State. Fifteen people were designated by the Treasury Department as Islamic State supporters, while 10 individuals and five groups were tagged by the State Department as foreign terrorist fighters.
China slaps fine on Microsoft's Chinese JV over Xbox
The China's Commerce Ministry has slapped a fine on a joint venture (JV) between Microsoft Corporation and its Chinese partner BesTV in Xbox game console venture for breaking antitrust laws. However, the Redmond-based global IT major has escaped from a major penalty as the investigation didn't find any major fault on the part of Microsoft over market competition rules. The investigation on Xbox marketing drive revealed that Microsoft didn't obstruct the free market competition. The Chinese Commerce Ministry has imposed a penalty of Yuan 200,000 ($31,430) on Microsoft JV firm in China.
Gates Foundation sues Petrobras and Auditor for Fraud
The trust that manages the $41 Billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation filed a lawsuit last Thursday that alleged the widespread corruption at the oil company and which was largely ignored by the auditor. This resulted to the charitable organization's loss of tens of millions of dollars.