All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 162
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Internal Controls, Audit Committees Primed for SEC Scrutiny
Every February SEC officials convene at the Practising Law Institute’s “SEC Speaks” conference, where commissioners can break news and staff can detail priorities for the New Year. The focus this year, from rulemaking to enforcement, was on financial reporting internal controls, and ways to improve audit committees. And, of course, ...
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$500,000 SEC Whistleblower Award to Corporate Officer
The SEC announced today that it issued a sizable whistleblower award to a former corporate officer. The SEC stated that while corporate officers and directors are typically not eligible under the Dodd-Frank whistleblower statute to receive awards, the statute carves out an exception if an officer reports information concerning misconduct ...
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Citigroup Probe Over AML Violations Widens
Citigroup is under investigation by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the California Department of Business Oversight for potential Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering violations at its Banamex USA unit. The disclosure comes one year after Citigroup received a subpoena from the U.S. attorney of Massachusetts for similar issues. ...
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Level Global Co-Founder Files Lawsuit Against Prosecutors, FBI Agents
Remember back in November 2010 when the FBI launched a series of raids on hedge funds including Level Global Investors LP and Diamondback Capital Management LLC? These raids ultimately led to the convictions of Level Global co-founder Anthony Chiasson and Diamondback Capital’s Todd Newman on criminal insider trading charges. Shortly ...
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New York AG Proposes Whistleblower Reward Program
Image: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will soon propose legislation to protect and reward employees who report fraud in the banking, insurance, and financial services industries. The bill will also provide whistleblowers protection from retaliation. “This law will be the strongest, most comprehensive in the nation and is long ...
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Batista Insider Trading Case in 'Turmoil' After Judge Seen Driving Seized Porsche
I've been following the interesting insider trading prosecution trial of former Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista that has been unfolding in Rio de Janeiro. Three years ago, Batista was worth $30 billion and was declared "the pride of Brazil" by Brazil's President. After the October 2013 collapse of his oil company, ...
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South Africa Fines Deutsche Bank $857,000 for Lax AML Controls
South Africa’s banking regulator last week fined Deutsche Bank $857,000 for failing to implement appropriate anti-money laundering controls. Deutsche Bank said in a statement that it acknowledged the inconsistencies and had “cooperated fully in remediating the identified shortcomings within agreed timeframes.” Details inside.
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SEC Commish Wants Clarity on SEC Enforcement Policy
Image: SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar is calling on the agency to create guidelines for when it will bring enforcement actions as administrative proceedings and when it will pursue cases in federal court. Given the SEC’s 100 percent success rate in administrative proceedings, he said in a speech, clarity on enforcement ...
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Decades Later, the Law of Insider Trading Remains Elusive and Undefined
Over a decade ago, in August 2004, I watched the high-profile Martha Stewart insider trading matter play out as federal prosecutors decided not to charge Stewart with the crime of insider trading, the SEC did pursue a civil lawsuit against her, and the rest of the U.S. seemed to scratch ...
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‘Broken Windows’ Strategy Raises Risk-Management Fears
The SEC has been pushing its “broken windows” enforcement strategy for more than a year now, chasing down minor infractions alongside larger securities violations. What have we learned? For starters, don’t expect isolated citations; larger sweeps get more bang for the SEC’s buck. As for compliance officers, their jobs will ...
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Transparency Watchdog Calls for End to Money Laundering ‘Impunity’
Image: Title: UgazTransparency International is calling on governments around the world to join together to end money laundering. The group says authorities should make it their highest priority to prosecute individuals and banks for conducting illicit financial transactions. TI board chairman Jose Ugaz said the lack of senior ...
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Feds: Employee Impersonated Firm’s President in SEC Inquiry
As I have noted here before, SEC enforcement actions are civil matters, meaning no matter how badly a defendant may lose the case he or she isn't going to prison. However, there is a one easy way to parlay this situation into jail time, and that is by perjuring yourself ...
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Video: What it Looks Like When Your GC is Wearing a Wire
In April, the criminal trial of former PetroTiger CEO Joseph Sigelman for alleged violations of the FCPA will begin in federal court in Camden, New Jersey. Prosecutors allege that Sigelman bribed a Colombian official at Ecopetrol SA, a state-run energy company, to win a contract for PetroToiger. The WSJ reports ...
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AstraZeneca to Pay $7.9 Million for False Claims Act Violations
Drug maker AstraZeneca this week agreed to pay $7.9 million to the government to resolve allegations that it engaged in a kickback scheme in violation of the False Claims Act. “We will continue to pursue pharmaceutical companies that pay kickbacks to pharmacy benefit managers,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce ...
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OMG it is #TBT at the SEC!
It is Thursday, so that means it is "Throwback Thursday" on Twitter and other social media sites such as Instagram. Throwback Thursday (referred to on Twitter and elsewhere by the hashtag #TBT) is the day of the week when many Twitter users reminisce by posting an old photo.This morning, for ...
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U.S. Announces New Intelligence Division to Battle Cyber Threats
The U.S. is establishing a new division called the Cyber-Threat Intelligence Integration Center that will produce coordinated cyber-threat assessments, share that information with existing cyber-centers, and support policy makers with timely intelligence about the latest cyber-threats. More inside.
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Qualcomm to Pay $975 Million in China Antitrust Case
Chipmaker giant Qualcomm has agreed to pay a record $975 million fine to Chinese regulators and to make certain modifications to its business practices to resolve an antitrust investigation that began more than a year ago. “Although Qualcomm is disappointed with the results of the investigation, it is pleased that ...
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Slippery Slope of FCPA Enforcement Against Individuals
The compliance community has long hectored the Justice Department to prosecute more individuals, rather than corporations. Now we’re starting to see that happen, and a thicket of legal questions are arising. Inside, Compliance Week columnist Tom Fox gives a tour of the current landscape. What’s on the horizon is not ...
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Qualcomm May Face $1 Billion Fine in China Antitrust Probe
Chinese regulators said this week that they’re in settlement talks with chipmaker giant Qualcomm, likely to face a fine of more than $1 billion to resolve an antitrust investigation that began more than a year ago. Xu Kunlin, head of China’s anti-monopoly regulator, said Qualcomm will be fined several times ...
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Broadwind Energy to Pay $1 Million for Accounting Violations
Broadwind Energy, an alternative energy company, has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to the SEC for accounting and disclosure violations. According to the SEC, Broadwind Energy prevented investors from knowing that reduced business from two significant customers caused substantial declines in the company’s financial prospects.