McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650 million to settle federal criminal and civil investigations into its role in helping Purdue Pharma ’turbocharge’ sales of OxyContin, the highly addictive opioid painkiller at the center of America’s overdose epidemic. This marks the first …
McKinsey & CompanyU.S. Department of JusticePurdue PharmaMartin EllingFood and Drug Administration (FDA)mckinseyopioid-crisispurdue-pharmaconsulting-scandalcorporate-crime+4 more
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) claws back R1.1 billion (approximately $73 million) from McKinsey & Company and its subsidiary McKinsey South Africa through a Corporate Alternative Dispute Resolution process, representing a final settlement of the state capture scandal. …
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McKinsey Africa enters into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, agreeing to pay more than $122 million (approximately R2.2 billion) to resolve criminal charges for conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The …
McKinsey AfricaU.S. Department of JusticeVikas SagarSouth African National Prosecuting AuthorityTransnet+1 moremckinseysouth-africastate-capturebriberycorruption+5 more
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led by Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) along with Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), exposes evidence that McKinsey & Company worked for the Chinese military and Chinese Communist Party while receiving over $480 million to …
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A federal court grants McKinsey & Company’s motion to dismiss Omar Abdulaziz’s lawsuit for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), ruling that the consulting firm had no legal duty to protect the Saudi dissident’s identity when it produced …
Omar AbdulazizMcKinsey & CompanyU.S. District Court Southern District of New YorkSecond Circuit Court of Appealsmckinseysaudi-arabiadissident-trackinglitigationcorporate-accountability+2 more
New York Times investigative reporters Walt Bogdanich (three-time Pulitzer Prize winner) and Michael Forsythe (George Polk Award winner and U.S. Navy veteran) publish ‘When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm,’ a landmark …
Walt BogdanichMichael ForsytheMcKinsey & CompanyThe New York TimesPenguin Random Housemckinseyauthoritarian-consultinginvestigative-journalismbook-publicationsaudi-arabia+3 more
A French Senate inquiry committee releases a 400-page report revealing that the French government has spent almost €1 billion in consulting fees since 2017, with very little to show for it. The scandal, dubbed ‘McKinsey Gate,’ centers on the deep ties between McKinsey & Company and …
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On February 18, 2022, thousands of publicly-employed union workers, retirees, and university students participated in a national strike and march that spread throughout Puerto Rico, with the largest contingent filling streets in San Juan. Demonstrators marched behind a banner declaring ‘People …
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The Securities and Exchange Commission censured MIO Partners Inc. (McKinsey’s investment subsidiary) and ordered it to pay $18 million to settle allegations that it had access to material nonpublic information about Puerto Rico and other issuers while simultaneously overseeing investments that …
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)MIO PartnersMcKinsey & CompanyFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Ricomckinseysec-enforcementmio-partnerspuerto-ricoconflict-of-interest+4 more
LUMA Energy officially took over operation of Puerto Rico’s electrical transmission and distribution system on June 1, 2021, triggering widespread protests under the rallying cry ‘Fuera LUMA’ (Out LUMA). The takeover represented the culmination of McKinsey’s privatization …
LUMA EnergyPuerto Rico Labor UnionsAngel Figueroa JaramilloJocelyn Velazquez RodriguezTodo Puerto Rico por Puerto Rico Coalition+1 morepuerto-ricoluma-energyprotestsprivatizationlabor-organizing+5 more
Omar Abdulaziz, a Montreal-based Saudi activist who sought asylum in Canada in 2013, files a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, County of New York (later removed to federal court) against McKinsey & Company, alleging the consulting firm reported on him to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, …
Omar AbdulazizMcKinsey & CompanyMohammed bin SalmanSaudi ArabiaJamal Khashoggimckinseysaudi-arabiadissident-trackinglitigationcorporate-accountability+1 more
The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority recommended LUMA Energy—a joint venture between Quanta Services and Canadian Utilities Limited—to operate Puerto Rico’s electrical transmission and distribution system for 15 years in exchange for $1.5 billion, with annual management fees of …
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee on Immigration and Citizenship, writes to Kevin Sneader, Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company, demanding detailed information about the firm’s work with ICE. The letter requests specific …
Pramila JayapalMcKinsey & CompanyKevin SneaderHouse Judiciary CommitteeImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)mckinseyconsulting-scandalcongressional-oversightimmigration-enforcementdetention-conditions+2 more
ProPublica publishes a bombshell investigation co-published with The New York Times revealing the full extent of McKinsey’s controversial work with ICE, based on 1,500 pages of documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The documents expose that McKinsey proposed cuts in …
ProPublicaNew York TimesMcKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)mckinseyconsulting-scandalinvestigative-journalismfoia-litigationimmigration-enforcement+3 more
In March 2019, just months after Jamal Khashoggi’s October 2018 assassination by Saudi agents on orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a reporter asks McKinsey Managing Director Kevin Sneader what McKinsey would do if they found out their client was a murderer. Sneader replies: …
Kevin SneaderMcKinsey & CompanySaudi ArabiaMohammed bin SalmanJamal Khashoggimckinseysaudi-arabiacorporate-ethicskhashoggimbs+2 more
The New York Times publishes a major investigation by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe titled ‘How McKinsey Has Helped Raise the Stature of Authoritarian Governments’ based on interviews with 40 current and former McKinsey employees and dozens of clients. The investigation reveals …
McKinsey & CompanyWalt BogdanichMichael ForsytheThe New York TimesSaudi Arabia+4 moremckinseyauthoritarian-consultinginvestigative-journalismsaudi-arabiachina+3 more
Centro de Periodismo Investigativo revealed that McKinsey’s conflict of interest in Puerto Rico extended beyond its own bond holdings to include connections with major creditors through hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, which held over $140 million in Puerto Rico bonds through various investment …
McKinsey & CompanyMIO PartnersWhitebox AdvisorsFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoCentro de Periodismo Investigativomckinseypuerto-ricoconflict-of-interesthedge-fundsconsulting-scandal+4 more
McKinsey & Company issues a statement claiming it is ‘horrified by the possibility, however remote, that it could have been misused’ after The New York Times reports the firm’s 2016 report identifying three Saudi dissidents had been weaponized by Mohammed bin Salman’s …
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McKinsey & Company holds a lavish corporate retreat themed ‘Connecting Together’ in Kashgar, Xinjiang from September 6-9, 2018, where hundreds of consultants ‘frolicked in the desert, riding camels over sand dunes and mingling in tents linked by red carpets.’ The retreat …
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McKinsey & Company reaches a settlement with South African power utility Eskom Holdings and a unit of the prosecuting authority, agreeing to return approximately R1 billion ($74 million) in fees earned on work for the electricity producer. Eskom had asked McKinsey to pay back the funds the …
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The New York Times discloses that McKinsey & Company has done more than $20 million in consulting work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, triggering immediate outrage among McKinsey employees and alumni. The revelation comes on the same day that ICE announces an end to its ‘zero …
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ICE officials state in an October 2017 contracting document that McKinsey’s work has shown ‘quantifiable benefits,’ specifically citing ‘increased total removals and reductions in time to remove a detainee.’ This official acknowledgment reveals how McKinsey’s …
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Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, knocking out the entire electrical grid, leaving thousands without shelter, and causing thousands of deaths directly or indirectly—exposing catastrophic infrastructure failures resulting from decades of austerity and debt service …
McKinsey & CompanyFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico Electric Power AuthorityNaomi Kleinhurricane-mariapuerto-ricodisaster-capitalismshock-doctrinemckinsey+5 more
McKinsey’s influence at ICE grows to such an extent that McKinsey staff ghostwrite a government contracting document that defines the consulting team’s own responsibilities and justifies the firm’s retention—a contract extension worth $2.2 million. When an ICE official discovers …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)ICE contracting officersmckinseyconsulting-scandalgovernment-captureprocurement-abuseconflict-of-interest+2 more
In April 2017, McKinsey partners send a confidential final report to the New York City corrections commissioner after spending almost three years leading their project at Rikers Island. The contract, which ultimately cost $27.5 million, ends with violence at the jail complex having increased by …
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McKinsey consultants propose controversial ‘detention savings opportunities’ to ICE that include reducing spending on food for migrants, medical care, and supervision of detainees. An internal ICE email dated March 30, 2017 documents that McKinsey is ’looking for ways to cut or …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)ICE career staffMigrant detaineesmckinseyimmigration-enforcementconsulting-scandalshock-doctrinedetention-conditions+3 more
The Financial Oversight and Management Board unanimously approved a brutal 10-year fiscal austerity plan (2017-2026) developed with McKinsey’s strategic consulting, imposing severe cuts to pensions, education, and healthcare to prioritize debt repayment to bondholders. The plan’s key …
McKinsey & CompanyFinancial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico GovernmentRafael Torregrosamckinseypuerto-ricoausterityshock-doctrinepension-theft+5 more
Just days after President Trump takes office in January 2017 and issues executive orders to shift ‘all legally available resources’ to border detention facilities and hire 10,000 new immigration officers, ICE quickly redirects McKinsey & Company - originally brought on under the …
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Just days after Trump takes office in January 2017, he issues executive orders directing ‘all legally available resources’ to be shifted to border detention facilities and calls for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers. ICE quickly redirects McKinsey’s existing organizational …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Donald TrumpEnforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)mckinseyimmigration-enforcementconsulting-scandalcorporate-captureice-contracts+4 more
McKinsey Global Institute issues a comprehensive report titled ‘Moving Saudi Arabia’s Economy Beyond Oil’ in December 2015, which becomes the foundation for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic transformation plan. The Saudi government hires McKinsey as the …
McKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey Global InstituteMohammed bin SalmanSaudi Arabiamckinseyauthoritarian-consultingsaudi-arabiavision-2030mbs+2 more
McKinsey tests its new anti-violence strategy in what the firm calls ‘Restart’ housing units at Rikers Island, implementing its centerpiece algorithm called the Housing Unit Balancer (HUB) designed to predict each inmate’s propensity for violence. By July 2015, eight Restart units …
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During the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, McKinsey & Company positioned itself strategically to provide consulting services to governments and financial institutions undergoing IMF-mandated structural reforms. The crisis triggered widespread economic restructuring in Thailand, Indonesia, and …
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McKinsey & Company developed a comprehensive blueprint for corporate restructuring in Southeast Asian economies during the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, directly influencing IMF and World Bank policy responses. The strategy focused on transforming regional economic structures through bank …