Facebook attacks 'fake' contract

2 June 2011 Last updated at 18:39 GMT Mr Zuckerberg started Facebook in 2004 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that an alleged contract and e-mails that a New York man claims entitle him to a 50% stake in the social networking site are "forgeries".

Paul Ceglia says that Mr Zuckerberg signed a contract in 2003 which gave Mr Ceglia half-ownership of Facebook.

In a court filing, Facebook and Mr Zuckerberg demand that Mr Ceglia turn over the alleged contract and e-mails.

Lawyers representing Mr Ceglia disputed Facebook's claims.

"Those so-called expert opinions have been provided without examining the actual contract which is at issue in the case," said Dennis C Vacco, who is one of Mr Ceglia's attorneys.

'Cut-and-paste job'

In a filing made at the US District Court in Buffalo, Mr Zuckerberg said he provided web development services in 2003 for StreetFax, a business Mr Ceglia was trying to start at the time.

He said he signed a contract drafted by Mr Ceglia, a wood pellet salesman, which referred only to the work he did for StreetFax.

"Zuckerberg and Ceglia never discussed Facebook and they never signed a contract concerning Facebook," the filing said.

"The contract is a cut-and-paste job, the e-mails are complete fabrications, and this entire lawsuit is a fraud."

Facebook and Mr Zuckerberg hope to use forensic testing to show that the documents are fakes.

Facebook is privately owned but estimates of its worth range between $50bn (?30bn) and $76.4bn (?46.7bn).

Twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss also claimed that Mr Zuckerberg stole their website idea while they were all students at Harvard.

In 2008 they reached a settlement which gave them $20m in cash and $45m of stock valued at $36 a share.

They have since unsuccessfully tried to reopen their case against Facebook, claiming that the company concealed information and they should have received more shares.

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Minister attacks pension transfer

23 May 2011 Last updated at 09:57 GMT The Pensions Minister Steve Webb says he may ban pension transfer incentives The Pensions Minister Steve Webb says employers must stop tricking people into giving up valuable pension rights.

He is worried about the increasing use of cash incentives to lure people into moving their pensions elsewhere, or to give up inflation proofing.

He will warn pension industry representatives, at a private meeting, that he may ban these practices.

The Pensions Regulator has already warned several times about the perils of such inducements.

In 2007, 2008 and 2009 the regulator issued guidance to pension scheme trustees, warning them to assume that transfer incentive schemes were probably not in the interests of scheme members.

However they appear to have become more common as companies have tried to crystallize or offload some of the costs of running their schemes.

"People do not understand what they are doing and in many cases are making the wrong choice," Mr Webb told the BBC.

"If people are giving up good pension rights, at a price that isn't ultimately fair to them that is not acceptable," he added.

Limited powers

Despite the concern of the regulator and now the government, there is little that can be done at the moment by trustees or anyone else to stop employers making these inducements.

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Compound interest means their pension could fall by a quarter or more if they give up inflation protection”

End Quote Steve Webb Pensions Minister The offers may operate outside the rules of a scheme, thus eliminating the power of the trustees to act, and may not break any laws.

The incentives can come in a variety of different forms.

They may be enhancements to transfer values, or straight cash payments, to those who have left employment but yet to retire, to move their deferred pensions elsewhere.

Or they can be offers of cash or enhanced pensions, in return for giving up future inflation proofing.

"[This] can look like a good deal when you are offered a cash lump sum, but people forget they will be retired for 20 or 30 years - compound interest means their pension could fall by a quarter or more if they give up inflation protection," said Mr Webb, the Lib Dem MP for Thornbury and Yate.

The employers' organisation the CBI said it was wrong to believe that all transfer incentives were bad.

"The Pensions Regulator would be best bearing down on situations where it's clear that transfer offers are not in a pension holder's interests, or when either poor or no independent advice has been offered," the CBI said.

"The deal many policyholders get from good [transfer incentive] offers is often attractive," it added.

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