CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Execs at Austal, which builds LCSs for U.S. Navy, indicted for fraud

Austal USA

The Associated Press
Sat, April 1, 2023 

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Three current and former former executives of a shipbuilder that constructs vessels for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have been indicted on accounting fraud charges accusing them of falsely inflating the company’s reported earnings, federal prosecutors said.

Craig Perciavalle, 52, Joseph Runkel, 54, and William Adams, 63, all of Mobile, Alabama, where Austal USA LLC is based, are accused of misleading shareholders and investors. They are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud affecting a financial institution, five counts of wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Friday.

LCS shipbuilder president resigns amid US and Australian financial investigations

Court records were not immediately available to show if the men had attorneys to comment on their behalf.-

Austal USA LLC is a subsidiary of Australia-based Austal Limited and builds littoral combat ships for the Navy. The ships are designed to operate in shallow coastal waters.

Perciavalle resigned as Austal USA’s president in 2021 following an investigation by federal and Australian authorities into practices dating back more than four years, the company said at the time. Adams is the former director of the littoral combat ships program, according to the SEC. Runkel is the director of financial analysis.

Prosecutors alleged the three men manipulated an accounting metric to hide growing costs in order to maintain and increase the share price of Austal Limited’s stock, hurting U.S. investors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a news release that the three “engaged in a scheme to artificially reduce the cost estimates to complete certain shipbuilding projects for the U.S. Navy by tens of millions of dollars.”

Venezuela arrests nine CVG officials over corruption probe


 Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek Saab addresses the media 

on anti corruption probe, in Caracas

Sun, April 2, 2023 

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have taken nine officials from state-owned metals conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) - including from steel-maker subsidiary Sidor - into custody during corruption investigations, attorney general Tarek Saab said on Sunday.

Prosecutors began investigating irregularities at CVG and Sidor on Friday, adding to investigations into alleged corruption at state oil company PDVSA and a government agency overseeing cryptocurrency transactions, both led by Tareck El Aissami who subsequently resigned as oil minister.

Nestor Astudillo and Pedro Maldonado, the presidents of Sidor and CVG respectively, are under arrest, as well as four company vice presidents and three managers, Saab said on Twitter.

The government of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on March 31 appointed an oversight board in CVG, according to the country's official gazette, which was read on state television.- 

Some 42 people have been arrested as part of investigations into corruption, Saab tweeted on Saturday night, without giving more details.

Last week 21 people - including officials, businessmen and a member of the National Assembly - were charged relating to losses incurred by PDVSA when tankers left the country with cargoes that had not been paid in full, the authorities said.

(Reporting by Mayela Armas; Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Josie Kao)