All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 151
-
Blog
Hillary Clinton Pledges to Redefine Insider Trading, Self-Fund SEC
The Supreme Court announced this week that it will let stand the Second Circuit's landmark insider trading decision in U.S. v. Newman. Hillary Clinton, however, says that as President she would not do the same, and that she would propose legislation to "clarify" the law post-Newman.
-
Article
SEC Reform of In-House Trials Gets Lukewarm Reception
Image: Facing lawsuits and other complaints that its administrative proceedings are stacked against defendants, the SEC is mulling changes to give the accused more ability to defend themselves. The proposals have received lukewarm reception at best. “The proposed amendments do not come close to addressing all the issues that administrative ...
-
Article
Volkswagen Scandal Puts Yates Memo to the Test
If ever a case of corporate misconduct could drive the Justice Department to follow through on its new promises to prosecute individuals more vigorously, the emissions scandal at Volkswagen is it. Still, finding individual culpability in the case will be difficult, given its focus on surreptitious software. “Figuring out who ...
-
Blog
Scottish Prosecutors Resolve Bribery Case With Brand-Rex for £200,000
Scotland-based company Brand-Rex, a developer of cabling solutions for network infrastructure and industrial applications, last month reached a £212,800 civil settlement with Scottish prosecutors for failing to prevent bribery by a third party in violation of Section 7 of the U.K. Bribery Act. Details inside.
-
Blog
BP to Pay $20.8 Billion for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
BP today reached an historic $20.8 billion settlement with the government and five Gulf states to resolve civil claims arising from the 2010 Macondo well blowout and the massive oil spill that followed in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the largest settlement with a single entity in the Department’s ...
-
Blog
R.T. Jones Pays SEC $75K for Failing to Adopt Cyber-Security Policies
Investment advisory firm R.T. Jones last week reached a $75,000 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to adopt written policies and procedures reasonably designed to protect customer records and information in violation of the "Safeguards Rule." Such failures ultimately resulted in a cyber-attack that compromised the personally ...
-
Blog
Game Over: Supreme Court Denies Appeal in Newman Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has specifically included the landmark insider-trading case of U.S. v. Newman on a lengthy list of cases in which the Court denied certiorari (will not hear on appeal). The Court’s refusal to hear the case means that Newman will continue to pose a major, often insurmountable ...
-
Blog
Final Trial Scorecard for FY 2015: SEC Goes Undefeated in 6 Trials
The SEC went undefeated in its six federal court trials in FY 2015, posting a record of 4-0-2. The SEC conducted far fewer trials than it did in FY 2014, but it was more successful. Check out the complete list of trials and the results in each case here.
-
Blog
Hyperdynamics to Pay $75K to SEC in FCPA Case
Oil and gas company Hyperdynamics announced this week that it has reached a $75,000 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve violations of the books and records and internal control provisions of the Securities Exchange Act. Hyperdynamics said it consented to the SEC order without admitting or denying ...
-
Blog
How Do Small Groups Produce So Much 'Anti-Mary Jo White' Noise?
In the past, it took a lot of dissatisfied people to make a lot of noise. We continue to learn that in the social media era, a very small number of dissatisfied people with the right tools and tactics can generate just as much noise!
-
Blog
The Curious Incident of the 'Life Coach' and the Press Release
The SEC loves to craft press release headlines that feature defendants' interesting or high-profile jobs, but it missed a golden opportunity to do just that in its announcement of an insider trading case last week.
-
Blog
Third Parties Face Penalties Over ‘Deliberate Tax Evasion’ Scheme
An investigation into third parties by the Revenue Commissioners of Ireland revealed that some companies were deliberately dodging tax laws by submitting incomplete and doctored disclosures to avoid penalties. According to a report by the comptroller and auditor general, tighter regulations are necessary to help crack down on tax evasion ...
-
Blog
Credit Suisse Securities to Pay $4.25M for ‘Blue Sheet’ Compliance Lapses
Credit Suisse Securities yesterday reached a $4.25 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for submitting deficient information to the agency over a two-year period about trades done by its customers, commonly referred to as “blue sheet data.” “We will continue to hold broker-dealers who fail to comply with ...
-
Blog
Reminder: New FAR Thresholds for 2015
Reminder: revised acquisition-related dollar thresholds amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation for government contractors take effect Oct. 1. Government contractors should be aware of these adjustments since they affect a number of areas, including when contractors must report the executive compensation of their first-tier subcontracts, when they must report certified cost ...
-
Blog
Two More Banks Reach Agreements Under Swiss Bank Program
The Department of Justice last week announced that two more banks—Migros Bank and Graubündner Kantonalbank—have reached resolutions under the Department’s Swiss Bank Program, which provides a means for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. Migros will pay a $15 million penalty, and Graubündner will pay ...
-
Blog
SEC Trial Scorecard Update: Jury Finds for SEC in Insider Trading Case
With just five days remaining in FY 2015, the SEC notched another victory at trial yesterday when a federal jury in Illinois found two men liable for insider trading in the securities of three acquisition targets. The case represented the SEC's sixth trial verdict in federal court in FY 2015.
-
Blog
Hudson City Bancorp to Pay $33M on Lending Practices
Hudson City Savings Bank today reached a $33 million settlement with the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to resolve allegations that it engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices against predominantly African American and Hispanic neighborhoods. “This resolution represents the Justice Department’s largest residential mortgage 'redlining' settlement ...
-
Blog
Former RidgeWorth Capital Management CCO Joins Deloitte
Deloitte & Touche has named Robert Zakem as a director in its regulatory and compliance practice for investment management firms. Most recently, he served as general counsel and chief compliance officer of RidgeWorth Capital Management. Details inside.
-
Blog
Lessons From SEC’s First Cybersecurity Enforcement Action
This week, the SEC fined investment advisory firm R.T. Jones Capital Equities Management for failing to establish required cyber-security policies and procedures, which later led to a breach that compromised the personal data of roughly 100,000 customers. It is the first enforcement action the SEC has brought against a regulated ...
-
Blog
Caldwell Clarifies Application of the Yates Memo
During remarks at a recent conference in New York, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell offered some additional insight to companies on the Yates Memo regarding individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing. “We will make efforts to credit, not penalize, diligent investigations,” she said. More of her comments are inside.