A corporate collapse typically involves the insolvency or bankruptcy of a major business enterprise. A corporate scandal involves alleged or actual unethical behavior by people acting within or on behalf of a corporation. Many recent corporate collapses and scandals have involved false or inappropriate accounting of some sort (see list at accounting scandals).
The following list of corporations involved major collapses, through the risk of job losses or size of the business, and meant entering into insolvency or bankruptcy, or being nationalised or requiring a non-market loan by a government.
List of scandals without insolvency
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group scandal involving misleading file notes in the Financial Ombudsman Service (Australia) presented to the Victorian Supreme Court.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group allegations of racial bigotry toward billionaire businessman Pankaj Oswal and his wife. Court was presented with emails where an ANZ staff member comments to ANZ CEO Mike Smith: "We are dealing with Indians with no moral compass and an Indian woman as every bit as devious as PO (Mr Oswal)."
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group toxic culture. Court case where allegations were made by ex-employees that the bank's senior management tolerated drugs and strip clubs.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group alleged manipulation of the Australian benchmark interest rates. ANZ is currently being pursued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which filed an originating process in the Federal Court of Australia against ANZ in March 2016.
BAE Systems bribery scandal related to the Al Yamamah contracts with Saudi Arabia
Bayer, links to Josef Mengele's Auschwitz human experiments, HIV-tainted blood products, anti-Semitism, racism, Zyklon B production through IG Farben
Bristol-Myers Squibb accounting scandal
Brown & Williamson, for chemically enhancing the addictiveness of cigarettes, becoming the leading edge of the tobacco industry scandals of the 1990s, eventually resulting in the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement
Chevron-Texaco Lago Agrio oil field pollution scandal
Commonwealth Bank of Australia facts uncovered that showed the insurance arm of the bank denied life insurance policy holders despite having legitimate claims, resulting in calls for a Royal Commission into the Australian insurance industry.
Commonwealth Bank Of Australia provision of unsuitable financial advice to a large amount of customers between 2003 and 2012 and continuious delay in providing compensation to victims.
Compass Group, bribed the United Nations in order to win business
Corrib gas controversy Kilcommon, Erris, Co. Mayo, Ireland
Deutsche Bank, spying scandal
Deutsche Bank Libor scandal, agreed to a combined US$2.5 billion in fines
Duke Energy
El Paso Corp.
Fannie Mae, underreporting of profit
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, part of the General Motors streetcar conspiracy, labor controversies, Firestone and Ford tire controversy
FlowTex, the largest corporate scandal in German history
Ford Pinto, fuel tank scandal
Financial Ombudsman Service (Australia) scandal involving misleading file notes in the Financial Ombudsman Service (Australia) presented to the Victorian Supreme Court.
Global Crossing
Guinness share-trading fraud
Hafskip's collapse
Halliburton overcharging government contracts
Harken Energy Scandal
HealthSouth reporting exaggerated earnings
Hewlett-Packard spying scandal
Homestore.com
IG Farben, participation in the Holocaust
Kerr-McGee, the Karen Silkwood case
Kinney National Company financial scandal
Krupp, participation in arming Nazi Germany and in the Holocaust
Lernout & Hauspie accounting fraud
Lockheed bribery scandal in Germany, Japan, and Netherlands
Livedoor scandal
Marsh & Mclennan
Merck Medicaid fraud investigation
Mirant
Morrison-Knudsen scandal. Led to William Agee's ouster
Mutual-fund scandal (2003)
Nugan Hand Bank
Olympus Scandal
Options backdating involving over 100 companies
Panama Papers International. Leak of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents pertaining to the bank accounts and companies held by politicians, High-net-worth individuals and other people, some in off-shore tax havens. The focus was Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Peregrine Systems corporate executives convicted of accounting fraud
Phar-Mor company lied to shareholders. CEO eventually sentenced to prison for fraud and company eventually became bankrupt
Qwest Communications
RadioShack CEO David Edmondson lied about attaining a B.A. degree from Pacific Coast Baptist College in California
Reliant Energy
Rite Aid accounting fraud
Royal Dutch Shell overstated its oil reserves twice, it downgraded 3,900,000,000 barrels (620,000,000 m3), or about 20 percent of its total holdings.
S-Chips Scandals, Singapore
Satyam Computers, India
7-Eleven Australia. Allegations of bullying tactics, underpayment of wages and entitlements.
Siemens Greek bribery scandal, involving cases of bribery on behalf of Siemens towards the Greek Government
Société Générale, derivatives trading scandal causing multibillion-euro losses
Southwest Airlines, violations of safety regulations
Tyco International, executive theft and prison sentence
Union Carbide, the Bhopal disaster
ValuJet Airlines, loading live oxygen generators into cargo hold of passenger jet causing fatal crash
Volkswagen emissions violations, fraud in diesel motors pollution measurements
David Wittig "looting" scandals
Xerox alleged accounting irregularities involving auditor KPMG, causing restatement of financial results for the years 1997 through 2000 and fines for both companies
