Business Briefs – March 26, 2019

Wall Street Bonuses Fall Over $30k Despite Profit Upturn

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York state’s comptroller says the average bonus paid to Wall Street security industry employees dipped by more than $30,000 despite an 11 percent increase in securities industry profits in 2018. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s annual estimate of the average bonus paid to security industry employees was released Tuesday. The Democrat’s report says the average bonus fell 17 percent, from $184,400 in 2017 to $153,700 last year.

Maker of OxyContin Reaches $270M Settlement In Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The maker of OxyContin and the family that owns the company have reached a $270 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma over the prescription painkiller’s role in the nation’s deadly opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family have made billions from OxyContin since the 1990s. But the company has been hit with close to 2,000 lawsuits.

Russian Ex-Minister Arrested On Fraud Charges

MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s top state investigative agency says that a former government minister has been arrested on fraud charges. The Investigative Committee says that Mikhail Abyzov is accused of leading a criminal group that embezzled funds belonging to two energy companies in Siberia and siphoned them into foreign bank accounts. The 46-year-old Abyzov was a member of the Russian Cabinet in 2012-2018, overseeing information technologies and efforts to increase the government’s transparency.