All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 148
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Blog
The Philippines Not Playing Around With Pyramid Schemers
The Philippines doesn't make a lot of news in the securities enforcement world. When the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission does prosecute and convict someone for a major securities fraud, however, it doesn't play around!
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SEC Trial Scorecard Update: Agency Prevails in First FY 2016 Trial
Last week, the SEC prevailed at trial in SEC v. National Note of Utah and Wayne L. Palmer -- a bench trial alleging a Ponzi scheme. Following this victory, the SEC is now 1-0 in its FY 2016 federal court trials.
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Wyndham Settles FTC Charges in Cyber-Security Case
Wyndham Worldwide this week agreed to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission that the company’s security practices unfairly exposed the payment card information of hundreds of thousands of consumers to hackers in three separate data breaches. The FTC first filed the complaint against Wyndham in 2012 over allegations that ...
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Survey: Banker Bonuses Plummet in 2016
Image: Bankers should see a sharp fall in their bonuses this year in light of new regulations and increased shareholder pressure around soaring banker bonuses. According to a U.K.-based salary benchmarking website, investment banker bonuses are expected to take a 4 percent dip this year. Last month, at an academic ...
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Article
U.S. and U.K. Treasury Revisit AML Risks
Image: For the first time in 10 years in the United States—and for the first time ever in the United Kingdom—financial institutions have some much-needed insight into how these two countries intend to prioritize money laundering and terrorist financing risks, enabling compliance officers to better allocate their limited resources. “These ...
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Grand Opening: Photo Wing of the Enforcement Action Art Gallery!
In September 2015, I was motivated by an awesome drawing of the five SEC commissioners reimagined as WWE wrestlers to launch the Enforcement Action Art Gallery. It occurs to me, however, that there are many photographs that need to be preserved, as well. Welcome to the new Photo Wing!
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Hitachi Settles Case With African Development Bank
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) announced this week that it reached a settlement agreement with Japan-based Hitachi. The African Development Bank (AfDB) Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department alleged that Germany-based Hitachi Power Europe, and its South African subsidiary, Hitachi Power Africa, engaged in sanctionable practices in exchange for a boiler ...
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Signs of Life for SFO, Enforcement of Bribery Act 2010
This week has seen a trio of significant "firsts" from the UK's Serious Fraud Office, including its first-ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement and two cases brought under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
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Report: Whistleblowing Seen as “Disrespecting Authority” in Latin America
Latin America remains a hot spot for investors from every industry and markets around the world. But corruption in this region continues to run rampant and creates greater compliance risk for multinationals doing business in Latin America. According to a recent report, the top seven compliance risks for companies ...
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Law Firm Slater & Gordon Now Taking Its Lumps as Public Company
Slater & Gordon, a publicly-traded Australian law firm that is a major player in the plaintiffs’ securities class action area, must now contend with the consequences of its own stock price plummeting.
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Article
Working With External Compliance Monitors
Image: So your company has just entered into a settlement with a U.S. government agency and must now install a compliance monitor. How do you respond? For many companies, working with an external compliance monitor is still an intimidating process tainted by misconceptions. “A monitorship was never designed to ...
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Employee Investigations Post-Yates Memo
Image: Any company that has faced allegations of corporate misconduct knows how quickly the scope and cost of an internal investigation can grow—a concern that has only amplified following the Justice Department’s Yates Memo. “Corporate compliance professionals have expressed concern that this policy will result in companies undertaking unnecessarily broad, ...
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SEC Sues Former Goldman Compliance Employee for Insider Trading
The SEC announced an insider trading case today against a former Goldman Sachs compliance employee who allegedly used his access to investment bankers' emails to glean, and profit from, inside information.
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Takata to Pay Record $200 Million NHTSA Penalty
Citing violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act’s requirements to repair vehicles with safety defects, the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this month imposed the largest civil penalty in its history. The consent order imposes a record civil penalty of $200 million against Japan-based airbag supplier Takata ...
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Parsing the Role of the New Compliance Counsel
Image: Now that the Justice Department has named Hui Chen, former global head of anti-bribery and corruption at Standard Chartered Bank, as its first-ever compliance counsel, corporations under investigation by the department can expect a more nuanced analysis of their compliance programs. Inside, we review what Chen has disclosed so ...
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Where are the SEC Federal Court Trials?
After a surge in FY 2014, the number of trials that the SEC is completing in federal court appears to be drying up -- with just six such trials in FY 2015 and zero to date in FY 2016.
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U.K. FCA Scrutinizes Use of Big Data by Insurers
Image: The Financial Conduct Authority is requesting more information from general insurers about big data, which may lead into a market study or further policy or guidance. Big data has the “potential to transform practices and products across financial services,” Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA, ...
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Appellate Courts Tee Up Challenges to SEC In-House Proceedings
The issue of whether federal district courts have subject matter jurisdiction over challenges to the constitutionality of SEC administrative proceedings remains unsettled. Although the 7th Circuit found in favor of the SEC on this issue in August 2015, the controversial issue will soon be considered by both the 11th Circuit ...
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Caldwell Offers More Details on Charging Decisions
During remarks this week at the American Conference Institute’s International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Leslie Caldwell, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, provided some additional insight regarding charging decisions in corporate prosecutions. “Greater transparency benefits everyone,” said Caldwell. More of her comments are inside.
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SEC's Piwowar Takes Another Shot at 'Flawed' Enforcement Statistics
In a speech this week, SEC Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar took another swipe at the SEC's enforcement statistics, jokingly comparing them to financial statements in a "world where GAAP or other reporting standards did not exist."