Misuse of technology, poor management and greed led to numerous corporate frauds in the past decade, leading to huge losses and damaged reputations.
Over the past decade, we have witnessed a great number of controversies and frauds that made us question the existing standards of social responsibility and ethics in the workplace.
Here are a few scandals from the business world that shocked us and made headlines:
BP Gas Disaster (2010)
The decade kicked off with one of the most disastrous environmental calamities. In the first quarter of 2010, the oil drilling rig licensed by the oil and gas company BP exploded, leading to the unfortunate death of at least 11 on-site workers.
The disaster did not stop there. The oil rig sank deep into the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in at least 4.2 million barrels of oil spilling into the ocean. Consequently, the oil spill cost billions to BP in order to recompense for the economic as well as environmental damages caused by the disaster.
Turing Pharmaceuticals (2015)
Martin Shkreli, founder and former CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Turing Pharmaceuticals, was accused of misusing the funds of his company. This came as a shocking revelation to most of the corporate world, because of Shkreli’s philanthropic past. He was known for making multiple donations to charitable organizations and also founded the Shkreli foundation.
However, in 2015, he was accused and later found guilty on the charges of multiple accounting frauds, investment frauds and misappropriation of company assets.
The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA), 2015
Fans across the world adore football and desperately wait for FIFA tournaments. It came as a huge shock when, in 2015, FIFA was accused of committing financial scandals. FIFA had been involved in multiple scandals, like money laundering, wire fraud and even bribery for the purpose of advertising and marketing.
Apart from the reputation damage, the organization also faced financial and legal losses of $122.4 million. Moreover, the President of FIFA Sepp Blatter was forced to resign immediately.
Facebook (2018)
Back in 2018, nations across the world were debating over the right to privacy. During this period, a shocking claim by Cambridge Analytica urged the whole world to reconsider the usage of online platforms.
The organization claimed that Facebook was obtaining data of its 50 million users. This data was being illegally used in the 2016 US elections and played a great role in Donald Trump’s presidential victory. This had serious repercussions for Facebook as several regulations were imposed thereafter, along with a legal fine of 5 billion US$.
Wirecard (2020)
Along with the devastating pandemic, this year also marked the revelation of top corporate scandals. One such scandal was committed by Germany’s financial technology giant Wirecard. The company had been involved in accounting frauds and was not able to account for 2 billion US$ by the end of the financial year. This scandal resulted in huge losses as the company’s share prices went down by 90% and many executives were arrested for fraud.
With great funds and reputation comes greater responsibility. However, many corporate giants failed to live up to this responsibility, leading to many similar frauds all over the world.
