The US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa on Tuesday, alleging the company illegally maintains a monopoly over debit card networks in the United States.

According to the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in New York, Visa’s practices have resulted in billions of dollars in additional fees for American consumers and businesses while slowing innovation in the debit payments ecosystem.

The lawsuit comes after years of probes by the US antitrust enforcers into Visa’s business practices.

“We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Visa, according to the lawsuit, charges roughly $8 billion in network fees on US debit volume annually. Globally, Visa processes $12.3 trillion in total payment volume.

The Justice Department claims Visa imposes exclusionary agreements on merchants and banks, penalizing customers who route transactions through different networks or alternative payment systems.

It also claims that Visa sought to neutralize potential threats from technology companies and fintech startups by entering into partnership agreements rather than allowing them to compete directly.

Visa also imposes transaction volume commitments that effectively penalize merchants and banks for using competitors, the Justice Department alleges, even when those competitors offer lower prices.

Through these tactics, Visa maintains an “enormous moat” around its business, helping it earn big profits.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Visa reported a global operating income of $18.8 billion and an operating margin of 64 percent in 2022.

The company’s North American operations boasted an 83 percent operating margin in the same year.

The United States said Tuesday it will waive visa requirements for citizens of Qatar, making the close Gulf partner the first Arab country to clear the hurdle.

The energy-rich Gulf monarchy cleared the “stringent security requirements” to become the 42nd member of the visa waiver program, the Department of Homeland Security announced.

The agreement “will deepen our strategic partnership and enhance the flow of people and commerce between our two countries,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Qatar — where citizens make up a small minority of residents — has been jockeying with fellow wealthy Gulf Arab states for a greater global role.

Home to a major US air base, Qatar has taken a lead in so far unsuccessful efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and earlier helped the United States fly out thousands of Afghan allies as the Taliban seized control.

US officials said they were open to other Gulf Arab nations eventually entering the program.

The countries whose citizens are exempt from US visas are overwhelmingly wealthy and mostly in Europe and East Asia.

The United States last year added Israel after years of friction.

To enter the program, Israel made promises not to discriminate against its admission of US citizens of Palestinian or other Arab descent.

Under the waiver program, citizens apply online for pre-clearance to enter the United States rather than going through the paperwork and expense of a visa.

Some applicants are still told to seek a visa, including if they have visited a number of countries with adversarial relationships with the United States, such as Iran.

. We’ll continue to disrupt activities of drug cartels in Niger – NDLEA

Barely 16 months after he was arrested and convicted for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine, a 48-year-old businessman Christian Ifeanyi Ogbuji has been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for importing 817 wraps of the same Class A drug weighing 19.40 kilograms with an estimated street value of Four Billion Six Hundred and Fifty Six Million Naira (N4,656,000,000.00).

Ogbuji was first arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, NAIA, Abuja, on Wednesday 10th May 2023 upon arrival from Uganda via Addis Ababa, onboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 951 for ingesting 93 pellets of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.986kg.

He was subsequently arraigned before Federal High Court 12 Abuja presided over by Hon. Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/192/2023 and convicted on 13th July 2023. Ogbuji was sentenced to two years imprisonment with an option of paying a fine of Three Million Naira (N3,000,000.00), which he paid and was set free.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the seized 1.986 kilograms cocaine, his international passport, 14 US dollars and 9000 Uganda shillings found on him at the time of his arrest.
Not done with crime, Ogbuji was again arrested at the Lagos airport on Wednesday 18th September 2024 during an inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines flight passengers from Addis Ababa to Lagos.

The suspect had approached the joint examination table with a black travelling bag which was searched by an NDLEA operative who cleared the luggage. In a dubious move, Ogbuji sneaked back to the carousel area to put inside the cleared bag a black backpack he left on the conveyor’s belt.

As he made his way out of the arrival hall, vigilant NDLEA officers intercepted him and subjected him to a secondary search.

It was then large wraps of excreted cocaine were found concealed inside the backpack hidden in the black travelling bag that was earlier found with the suspect.

A total of 817 pellets of cocaine excreted by many traffickers in Addis Ababa weighing 19.40kg belonging to different members of a drug cartel were recovered.

During interview with the suspect, he stated that he initially left the backpack containing the drug at the carousel area as a strategy to beat NDLEA operatives, adding that he never knew there could be a secondary search since he had presented his bag for search previously and nothing incriminating was found. He claimed he had to procure a new international passport to continue his criminal trade.

Investigation reveals Ogbuji is an unrepentant kingpin within the network of drug cartels operating between Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria and others in the West African sub-region like
Benin, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire.
In his reaction to the arrest of Ogbuji, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended the officers and men of the MMIA Strategic Command for an excellent job done, adding that the seizure of such a large consignment of cocaine at the airport is a milestone that will send a strong message to the international drug cartels trying to find footholds in Nigeria.

He said the Agency will continue to work to disrupt the activities of drug cartels operating in the country.

Enzo Zidane, the eldest son of Zinedine Zidane, has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 29, according to a report by Diario AS on Tuesday.

Enzo, who last played for Fuenlabrada in Spain’s third division, has chosen to step away from the sport to focus on personal matters, including his family and business investments.

Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news, stating, “Zinedine Zidane’s son Enzo has retired from football at the age of 29.

He wants to focus on private matters, including his investments.

”Enzo’s career spanned a decade, during which he made 203 appearances, scored 13 goals, and provided 24 assists.

His journey included playing for clubs like Real Madrid Castilla, Alavés, Lausanne, Rayo Majadahonda, Aves, Almería, and Rodez Aveyron. His final stint was with Fuenlabrada, where he made 29 appearances.

One of his standout moments came in his lone appearance for Real Madrid’s senior team, where he scored on his debut in a 6-1 Copa del Rey victory over Cultural Leonesa.While Enzo has chosen to retire, his three brothers remain active in football.

Luca Zidane is Eibar’s first-choice goalkeeper, Theo Zidane plays in midfield for Córdoba in Spain’s third tier, and Elyaz Zidane recently joined Real Betis’ academy and plays for France at the U-17 level.

In 2014, Lionel Messi came very close to joining Chelsea, with the club prepared to activate the £211 million buyout clause in his Barcelona contract.

A long-term deal worth £50 million per year had been lined up for Messi, and Chelsea was even prepared to resolve his issues with the Spanish tax authorities.

José Mourinho, Chelsea’s manager at the time, was eagerly awaiting the completion of the transfer.

However, the move ultimately fell through due to the intervention of Messi’s father.

Despite all the terms of the personal contract being agreed upon, Messi’s father opposed the transfer once he discovered his son was in talks with Chelsea, halting what could have been one of the most significant moves in football history.

This insight comes from a former Chelsea technical director, reflecting on the collapse of Messi’s potential move to the London club.

Minibus drivers, commonly known as “Korope,” have staged a protest over the excessive levies imposed on them by transport union workers, referred to as “agberos.

” The protest, which took place at the Ministry of Transportation in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, involved drivers operating along the Mowe-Ibafo-Arepo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The protesters, carrying placards with messages like “Korope drivers say no to multiple tickets” and “Governor Abiodun come to our aid,” decried the financial burden these levies have placed on them.

They said the multiple daily ticket payments, totaling up to N8,000, are worsening their economic hardship.

Abiodun Owolabi, one of the drivers, complained about the continuous rise in ticket costs, sometimes increasing weekly.

He explained that they are required to buy tickets at nearly every stop along the route, with the total reaching about eight tickets per day, costing around N10,000 to N11,000.

Owolabi added that these fees, along with other charges, are significantly cutting into their daily earnings.

Another driver, Moses Prosper, expressed his frustration, saying he had lost his job due to his inability to keep up with the high payments.

He called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to intervene, saying the economic situation has left him struggling to provide for his family.

The drivers also alleged that the agberos justified the increases by claiming they were following directives from the Ministry of Transportation. They appealed for a single, unified ticket system to cover their daily trips and urged the government to curb the excessive levies or remove the agberos from the roads.

An official from the Ministry of Transportation advised the protesters to formally submit their complaints in writing to the commissioner, promising that the matter would be addressed once they did so.