All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 168
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ArticleAuto Industry Under Siege Over Defects, Mileage Ratings
Title: GrigorianA record number of product-safety recalls and massive civil and criminal penalties for compliance failures such as mis-stated mileage ratings have put all manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive industry on notice—and things are only just starting, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration bears down. “This level of ...
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Blog
Justice Scalia: Congress, Not SEC, Must Define Insider Trading Laws
On November 10, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Douglas Whitman's appeal of his August 2012 conviction on two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud. Prosecutors in the SDNY had charged Whitman, a portfolio manager at Whitman Capital, LLC, with engaging ...
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Blog
Life Comes at You Fast, Part II: Eike Batista
"Life comes at you fast," doesn't it Eike Batista? (Just ask MC Hammer and Allen Stanford).It has been a very tough recent stretch for former Brazilian billionaire, Eike Batista. In 2012, shortly after he was described by Brazil's President, Dilma Rousseff, as "our standard, our expectation and, above all, the ...
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Blog
SEC Hits Companies for Stock Dilution Disclosure Failures
The SEC has issued enforcement actions against 10 companies that failed to make required disclosures about financing deals and other unregistered sales that diluted their stock. The companies all agreed to settle the SEC’s charges, and the agency assessed a total of $350,000 in penalties.
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Blog
Federal Regulators Probing Subprime Auto Loans
Ally Financial recently became the latest auto-lending company to face a government investigation into its subprime auto lending practices. In the last few months, GM Financial and Santander Consumer USA Holdings have received subpoenas from the Department of Justice for similar practices, raising questions among some as to whether the ...
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Blog
Gallagher: Dodd-Frank Has SEC 'Shoveling Manure' for 'No Discernible Purpose'
Following the Republicans takeover of the U.S. Senate in Tuesday's national elections, Republicans will now control both the House and the Senate for the first time since 2006. Some commentators are already speculating that this development brings with it the "first real prospect of changes" to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street ...
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Blog
SEC Seeks to Distribute $602 Million in SAC Capital Settlement to Investors
The SEC will attempt to distribute the funds from its $602 million insider trading settlement with SAC Capital to the people who were on the other (losing) side of those trades, Reuters reports. Ethan Wohl, lead attorney for the group of investors who allege they were the victims of these ...
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Blog
EU Securities, Markets Regulator Releases 2014 Enforcement Priorities
Image: Title: MaijoorNov. 5—The European Securities and Markets Authority has released common enforcement priorities for the year, which will be used by both ESMA and national regulators. These priorities include preparation and presentation of consolidated financial statements, financial reporting by entities with joint arrangements, and recognition and measurement of deferred ...
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Blog
EU Banking Union Begins Supervision; New Regulations on Horizon
Image: Title: NouyNov. 5—In a major milestone for the long-anticipated banking union, the European Central Bank has begun its role as the single supervisor for the Eurozone’s banking sector. The ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) will directly oversee 120 of the area’s biggest banks and indirectly oversee more than 3,000 ...
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Article
Regulators Are Once Again in Hot Pursuit of Worker Misclassification
Image: Title: HanrahanState and federal agencies are issuing a renewed warning to companies that regularly use independent contractors: classify them correctly, or face big penalties. They are also putting more funds into detection and enforcement, meaning companies are likely to see an increase in audits. “I would expect to see ...
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Blog
DaVita Healthcare to Pay $350 Million for False Claims Act Violations
DaVita Healthcare Partners, a dialysis services provider, agreed last month to pay $350 million to the Department of Justice to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to physicians or physician groups to induce the referral of patients to its dialysis clinics. “This case involved ...
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Blog
Hyundai, Kia Pay Record $100 Million for Misrepresenting Fuel Efficiency
Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America agreed this week to pay $100 million—the largest civil penalty ever secured under the Clean Air Act—for making inaccurate representations of their vehicles’ performance and emissions. The auto makers also must implement training and enhanced audit testing of their vehicles to prevent such ...
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Blog
HSBC Legal, Compliance Costs Surpass $1.6 Billion
Image: Title: GulliverNov. 4—London-based HSBC Holdings has set aside more than $1.6 billion to cover legal costs in connection with regulatory investigations and to make enhancements to its compliance operations. Of that amount, HSBC set aside $378 million to resolve claims with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority that the bank ...
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Blog
Bio-Rad Laboratories Will Pay $55M to Settle FCPA Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Bio-Rad Laboratories, a life sciences research company, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when its subsidiaries made improper payments to foreign officials in Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand to win business. The company, which self-reported the misconduct, agreed to pay $55 million to ...
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Blog
SEC Charges Two Friends With 'Audacious' Insider Trading Scheme
Late last week the SEC announced its latest insider trading case, which was filed against two friends and former business school classmates who allegedly used inside information to generate nearly $700,000 in illicit profits. The SEC alleged that Zachary Zwerko, a financial analyst at a major pharmaceutical company, learned about ...
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Blog
Brazil Gets Praise and a Push from OECD on Anti-Bribery Efforts
Oct. 30—Brazil is getting both a pat on the back and a push forward from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regarding its anti-bribery efforts. OECD’s Working Group on Bribery said this week that Brazil “must build on the positive momentum” started with its new Corporate Liability Law and ...
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Blog
For One Day, At Least, Australia a 'Paradise for White Collar Criminals'
In remarks at a business journalism awards lunch last week in Australia, Greg Medcraft, the Chairman of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, made some startlingly candid remarks about the state of Australia's ability to prosecute and penalize white collar crime. Medcraft noted that ASIC had conducted a review of ...
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Article
CFPB Offers No-Action Letters With Strings Attached
Image: Title: LampeFinancial firms worried about an enforcement action from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may soon get a reprieve. The agency has proposed a no-action letter policy that would let financial firms test the regulatory waters before they roll out new financial products. The application process, however, requires much ...
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ArticleHow to Tell if Your Whistleblower Hotline Is Effective
As companies strive to keep investigations internal, rather than risk high-profile regulatory intervention, improving the hotlines they use to solicit employee tips and concerns is crucial. Using metrics and industry benchmarks can help, but measuring the effectiveness of internal whistleblower efforts may be the hardest part. Some tips and trends ...
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ArticleSEC Enforcement Trends: Targeting Gatekeepers and Rewarding Tipsters
The Securities and Exchange Commission brought a record-breaking number of enforcement actions in fiscal year 2014, including several against compliance and audit executives. That should come as no surprise: Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney (pictured above) warned last spring that the SEC wouldn’t hesitate to pursue executives, including compliance professionals, when ...