On September 9, 2024, the Chief Accountant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Munter, delivered remarks describing circumstances in which, in the SEC staff’s view, entities may engage in cryptoasset...more
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed a rule (the Proposed Rule) to implement certain aspects of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the AML Act), which updated the...more
7/17/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Anti-Terrorism Financing ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Management ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has recently taken steps to expand the reach of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and related customer identification regulations. These steps build on...more
5/30/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
CFIUS ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 15, 2024, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Criminal Division unveiled a new Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosures for Individuals that offers non-prosecution agreements (NPAs) to individuals who voluntarily...more
4/24/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 7, 2024, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will soon launch a new monetary reward program for people who provide information about corporate or financial...more
The Corporate Transparency Act and its implementing regulations (together CTA) came into effect on January 1, 2024, requiring entities within its scope to disclose information, including about their beneficial owners, to the...more
2/2/2024
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Business Entities ,
Business Ownership ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
FinCEN ,
New York ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
On January 10, 2024, Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), announced the creation of that office’s Whistleblower Pilot Program (Program). This initiative provides notice of the...more
1/18/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
New York ,
Pilot Programs ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
State Funding ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Expert Allegations Could Become More Frequent in Securities Fraud Complaints and Possibly Erode Pleading Standards -
A Ninth Circuit panel ruling that plaintiffs could use expert analysis to bolster securities fraud claims...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Self-Reporting ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Voluntary Disclosure
Key Points -
- In the latest round of additions to the DOJ’s programs to incentivize voluntary self-disclosure of wrongdoing by corporations, the DOJ has rolled out new policies that outline concrete incentives for...more
12/14/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Mergers ,
Policy Terms ,
Private Sector ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
In a speech on October 24, 2023, the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Enforcement Division, Gurbir Grewal, described the scenarios in which the commission would bring an enforcement action against...more
The Proposed Rule Aims To Increase Transparency in CVC Mixing -
On October 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (Proposal)...more
In the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) latest effort to promote voluntary self-disclosure of corporate misconduct by companies, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco has announced guidance regarding a new safe harbor...more
10/5/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In a long-awaited decision involving the cryptocurrency “mixer” Tornado Cash, a U.S. district court on August 17, 2023, upheld the broad authority of the Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury’s) Office of Foreign Assets...more
On August 16, 2023, OFAC announced a $660,594 settlement with Construction Specialties Inc. (CS) for alleged violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). OFAC found that CS’s wholly controlled...more
9/6/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Whistleblowers
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
8/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in the consolidated cases United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc., Nos. 21-1326 &...more
6/12/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Safeco ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Thomas Proctor v Safeway Inc ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
Through a series of coordinated actions in May 2023, the United States launched a whole-of-government effort to expand and strengthen enforcement of its sanctions campaign against Russia as the conflict in Ukraine continues...more
6/6/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia
DOJ Increases Resources To Investigate and Prosecute Sanctions Evasion and Export Control Violations -
On March 2, 2023, during a keynote speech at the American Bar Association’s annual White Collar Crime National...more
3/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Entities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In early March 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released several important updates to its policies related to corporate crime enforcement and compliance programs. We discuss below the following key topics:
(i) The DOJ...more
3/13/2023
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Entities ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Pilot Programs ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 22, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) adopted a new policy that establishes a national standard for voluntary self-disclosure credit in corporate criminal enforcement actions brought by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices...more
On January 17, 2023, U.S. law enforcement authorities in Miami arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and the founder and majority owner of Hong Kong-based virtual currency exchange Bitzlato Ltd., on charges of money...more
2/7/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Law Enforcement ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
In the past year, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) Biden administration officials, and other U.S. banking regulators have repeatedly voiced growing concerns about certain cryptoasset...more
2/7/2023
/ Banking Regulators ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Risk Assessment
On January 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced revisions to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy. The revisions follow Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco’s September 2022...more
1/24/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Commodities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 3, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a Joint Statement on...more
1/6/2023
/ Banks ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Joint Statements ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Factors
On December 13, 2022, Danske Bank A/S, headquartered in Denmark, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349) and agreed to forfeit approximately $2.06 billion to resolve an investigation by...more
12/21/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Fraud ,
Banking Sector ,
Compliance ,
Danske Bank ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement