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FB Roundup: Lotte, Dassault, and News Corp

Lotte founder’s daughter arrested; Serge Dassault on trial for tax fraud; and Gretchen Carlson files sexual harassment suit against Fox News

Lotte founder’s daughter arrested

Shin Young-ja, the chairwoman of the Lotte Scholarship Foundation, has been arrested over allegations she received bribes as prosecutors step up an investigation into the country’s fifth-largest business chaebol.

The 74-year-old daughter of Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho is accused of accepting bribes from the former chief of cosmetics brand Nature Republic in exchange for store space in Lotte’s duty-free outlets.

While prosecutors declined to comment on Shin’s alleged infractions, Hotel Lotte said in a regulatory filing last month the director was being investigated on suspicion of accepting bribes.

Lotte Group has been the focus of media attention over the past year after younger son, Shin Dong-bin, ousted its nonagenarian founder and his elder brother and heir apparent in a board coup.

Shin Kyuk-ho founded Lotte in Japan in 1948 as a snack maker, but entered Korea in 1967 and has grown the business to be the country's fifth-largest conglomerate.

Serge Dassault on trial for tax fraud

Billionaire French industrialist Serge Dassault, founder of the eponymous aviation and software giant Dassault Group, went on trial this week for allegedly hiding millions of euros in tax havens.

Prosecutors have accused the 91-year-old of crimes ranging from tax fraud to buying the votes of poor immigrant families, with some estimates suggesting he may have stashed some €31 million from French authorities.

The nonagenarian is a member of the French Senate and the third wealthiest person in the France, with an estimated net worth of €13.3 billion ($14.8 billion), according to Forbes.

Dassault Group, which is 55% owned by the eponymous family and is in its second generation, has been hit by a decline in business-jet sales in recent years. The firm posted sales of $3.6 billion in 2014.

Gretchen Carlson files sexual harassment suit against Fox News

Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News Channel host, said this week she was fired from the American news channel and has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against its chairman, Roger Ailes.

Owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, Fox News strenuously denied the allegations that Ailes offered Gretchen a smoother path at the network in return for sex.

Parent company 21st Century Fox, owned by Murdoch through the family trust, is expected to hire to conduct its own internal investigation, the results of which may or may not be made public.

In a statement released, Carlson said she “refused to sleep” with Ailes and “reported disparaging treatment in the newsroom,” including what she said was a "sexist and condescending" way her co-host, Steve Doocy, dealt with her.

The Murdoch family controls almost 40% of the company’s voting shares, while owning just 12%.


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