Fine

Norwegian-based, global, shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS (WWO) has pleaded guilty in the Australian Federal Court to criminal cartel conduct in a prosecution brought by the Australia on evidence obtained by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

How would you feel if your company was fined GBP200,000 and ordered to pay costs of more than GBP17,000 for health and safety issues even though no-one was hurt? Ask Renault.

In the wider world of financial services, there's a tendency to forget that there are regulators for other areas of commerce, too. In the UK, in accounting, the last stop for action relating to accounting and audit misconduct is the Financial Reporting Council. It's one of those bodies that replaces gravitas with slogans on its website (which is "flashy" but doesn't work properly) but when it gets its teeth into a case, it acts as a proper regulator. It levies only small fines but it's paying more and more attention to the big boys.

While Clyde and Co's accounts were being examined in relation to allegations of failings under the money laundering regulations (see here), it was found a significant number of accounts where balances were held on the client's account but no action had taken place for a long time. The firm set out to remedy it. The partner responsible did it improperly.

The Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal (which, trendily, omits the apostrophe when it writes its own name) has levied its largest fine ever. Like the previous largest, it's against the London office of a US law firm.