All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 149
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Blog
Same Old, Same Old With SEC Budget Process
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill eerily similar to the bill Congress passed four years ago—both bills appropriate $222 million less than the SEC requested, freeze the SEC’s budget at the prior year’s level, and prohibit the SEC from drawing upon an important ...
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Blog
Sand Hill Exchange Founder Accepts Responsibility, Has Feedback for SEC
Despite a few outliers, most defendants in SEC settlements continue to settle cases "without admitting or denying" the allegations against them. While such language was also included in the Order memorializing the settlement of the SEC's recent administrative proceeding In the Matter of Sand Hill Exchange, et al., the settlement ...
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Blog
PetroTiger Exonerated From FCPA Prosecution
First, it was Morgan Stanley in 2012. Now, for only the second time in the history of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (at least, that's been publicly reported), the Department of Justice has exonerated a company from FCPA prosection, despite guilty pleas by three of its top executives. The Justice ...
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Blog
As BHP Enforcement Shows, the Proof Is in the Doing
Yes, Virginia, you can violate the FCPA even without bribing a foreign government official—just ask BHP Billiton, fined $25 million by the SEC for having a compliance program that looked great on paper, but was never strongly implemented. This week, columnist Tom Fox does a post-mortem on how BHP’s program ...
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Société Générale to Pay $17.8 Million Under Swiss Bank Program
The Justice Department announced that two more banks—Société Générale Private Banking and Berner Kantonalbank—have reached a resolution under the Swiss Bank Program, which provides a means for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. Société Générale will pay a $17.8 million penalty, Berner Kantonalbank a $4.6 ...
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Blog
Former Federal Regulator Offers Consulting Services for Wolters Kluwer
Former federal regulator Sandra Braunstein will provide compliance management and Community Reinvestment Act consulting services to the U.S. banking clients of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. In April 2014, Braunstein retired from her role as director of the Federal Reserve Board’s Division of Consumer and Community Affairs after nearly 27 years ...
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Blog
SEC Judge RSVP's 'No' to Commission's Invitation to Submit Affidavit
On June 4, 2015 the SEC issued an unusual order inviting one of its ALJs to file an affidavit addressing whether he has experienced any pressure to find in favor of the SEC in his cases. This week, the ALJ declined to do so, effectively RSVP'ing "no" to this "invitation."
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Blog
Prosecutors Search Deutsche Bank Head Offices in Tax Fraud Probe
Deutsche Bank took another blow this week after law enforcement officials searched the bank’s headquarters amid suspicions of tax fraud relating to client securities transactions. The practice, known as “dividend stripping,” has once again placed the largest German lender under the regulatory spotlight. Details inside.
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Blog
Former KPMG Partner Scott London out of prison, back to work
Scott London—the former KPMG partner who pleaded guilty to insider trading in June 2013 and was sentenced to serve 14 months in prison in April 2014—is out of prison and back to work. London is now employed as the assistant to the CFO of a computer company.
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Blog
Innocent Attorney Tries to Clear Name He Shares With Securities Fraudster
Itamar Cohen, age 52, of Thornhill in Ontario, Canada recently pleaded guilty in New Jersey to a $17 million stock fraud. This has created considerable stress and drama for Itamar Cohen, age 53, of Thornhill in Ontario, Canada -- an innocent attorney who is the victim of this unfortunate coincidence.
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Article
Export Control Reform Still Lags, Leaving Compliance Programs in Lurch
Image: Anyone involved in international trade might hope that one day, in the long run, export control reform will alleviate the compliance burden companies face now. In the short run, however, expect even more pain as reform ideas inch along. “This is one of the most complex and changing environments ...
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Blog
FinCEN Fines Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino $75 Mill on AML
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this week fined Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, $75 million for “willful and egregious” violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. According to FinCEN, Tinian Dynasty failed to develop and implement policies and procedures designed to ensure anti-money laundering compliance, or to detect suspicious transactions. Details ...
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Blog
SEC 'Invites' ALJ to Submit Affidavit on Pressure to Find for Agency
Yesterday, the SEC issued an unusual order In the Matter of Timbervest LLC et al., an administrative proceeding currently before the agency. The Commission invited the ALJ in the case to file an affidavit addressing the existence of any pressure to rule in favor of the Division of Enforcement in ...
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Blog
SEC Sues Bulgarian Trader for EDGAR-Assisted Avon Stock Scheme
The SEC says it knows who was behind fake tender offers posted to its EDGAR database and is suing the Bulgarian man it claims is responsible. On June 4, the Commission filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against Nedko Nedev and firms he was associated with. He allegedly masterminded ...
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SEC's Pinterest Page Highlights Achievements of Women SEC Officials
The SEC has found another interesting use for its "Pinterest" page. It recently created a Women's History Month board on the popular social media site to help gather information and photos, and celebrate the achievements of many of the most influential women employees in in its history.
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Blog
Sen. Warren is Triply 'Disappointed' in SEC Chair White
Sen. Elizabeth Warren would like SEC Chair Mary Jo White to know that Sen. Warren is disappointed in her. In a 13-page letter this week, Sen. Warren expressed this very sentiment repeatedly, prompting Chair White and others to defend her leadership of the agency and its accomplishments.
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Ex-Wells Fargo CEO Slams ‘Absurd’ Compliance Spending
Image: Is the compliance ramp-up at big banks to blame for layoffs, including the 5,000 of them announced last month by JPMorgan? Richard Kovacevich, former CEO of Wells Fargo, seems to think so. “It is absurd that [banks] are investing that kind of money on compliance” he said of growing ...
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Blog
Five Major Banks Agree to Parent-Level Guilty Pleas
Five major banks—Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS—last week agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros exchanged in the foreign currency exchange (FX) spot market. The banks also agreed to pay criminal fines totaling more than $2.5 ...
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Compliance Director Charged With Defrauding Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced fraud charges against a former director of compliance of a registered broker-dealer who was accused of defrauding investors and stealing money from the brokerage firm where he worked. “We allege a classic situation of the fox guarding the henhouse as William Quigley subverted ...
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Premiering Tonight -- '(Dis)honesty: The Truth About Lies'
A documentary premiering tonight on CNBC includes an in-depth look at the audacious insider trading scheme carried out by trader Garrett Bauer and attorney Matthew Kluger. The film examines how people rationalize and justify behavior, and considers what can be done "to stem an epidemic of cheating."