Tag: Ethics

Regulatory Watch News

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  Walgreens Agrees to Pay Up to $350M for Illegally Filling Unlawful Opioid Prescriptions and for Submitting False Claims to the Federal Government

  US Department of Justice

  April 21, 2025

  The Justice Department, together with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), today announced a $300 million settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance, Walgreen Co., and various subsidiaries (collectively, Walgreens) to resolve allegations that the national chain pharmacy illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and then sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA). The settlement amount is based on Walgreens’s ability to pay. Walgreens will owe the United States an additional $50 million if the company is sold, merged, or transferred prior to fiscal year 2032.

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  Response to Letter “Hold vendors to same high standards, or they may become weakest link” – The Straits Times, 14 April 2025

  MAS

  April 21, 2025

  The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects all financial institutions (FIs) to put in place stringent controls to protect any customer information that they disclose to their third-party vendors. These vendors would include printing agencies like Toppan Next Tech (TNT). FIs are expected to regularly review and affirm that the controls of their vendors are adequate to safeguard the confidentiality of customer information. Even with the appropriate controls, occasional breaches may still occur. Where there is an unauthorised disclosure of customer information by a vendor, the FI must act quickly to mitigate the impact to its customers. This means preventing further loss of customer information and communicating with customers promptly to advise them on what they need to do to prevent the information from being exploited.

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  Unicorn job scams: Criminals target vulnerable Aussies looking for work

  Australia Federal Police

  April 21, 2025

  “Earn $1000 a month from home! No experience needed. Work just 1-3 hours a day. Apply now!” Does this job ad look familiar? Maybe it popped up on your social media feed or magically landed in your email inbox. Either way, it’s not the once-in-a-lifetime unicorn job offer it purports to be. Rather, it’s a flat-out con job – and one that can have criminal consequences. Criminals are targeting Australians looking for flexible, remote or part-time work by posting fake job ads online. They’re called employment or job scams and are designed to exploit job seekers by offering what seems like quick and easy money for little work required.