The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to investigate companies for including language in their employment and separation agreements or retail client settlement agreements that potentially discourages...more
9/18/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Government Agencies ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The SEC has begun to bring enforcement actions against companies whose employment and client agreements could appear to infringe on the right to report cases in violation of Section 21f-17(a) of the Exchange Act. On September...more
9/16/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On May 3, 2024, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) jointly released the...more
5/8/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Due Diligence ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Risk
Following a year of new DOJ policies and guidance designed to incentivize companies to self-report misconduct and to cooperate with government investigations, the DOJ has added a new pilot whistleblower rewards program. In...more
3/19/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Pilot Programs ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a new whistleblower policy designed to incentivize individuals to disclose corporate misconduct through financial rewards from any resulting forfeiture of criminal proceeds. The...more
3/13/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Pilot Programs ,
Risk Management ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
In its Fall 2023 Semiannual Risk Perspective, published on December 7, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) reported on key issues facing the federal banking system. In evaluating the overall soundness of...more
12/15/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
OCC ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Third-Party Relationships
Summary -
The SEC’s pursuit of the crypto industry continues with its second-ever settlement of a non-fungible token (NFT) enforcement action. The SEC settled with Stoner Cats 2 LLC (SC2), which sought to finance an...more
Summary -
The SEC’s focus on the crypto industry expanded this week to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In its first NFT-enforcement action, the SEC settled with Impact Theory, a media and entertainment company, over...more
9/5/2023
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
Summary -
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly nearing a settlement with a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) over its failure to preserve certain credit-ratings...more
Summary -
Just when it looked like a victory for the crypto industry in SEC v. Ripple, a mere two weeks later, a different judge in the Southern District of New York disagreed with Ripple’s holding, introducing greater...more
Summary -
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in False Claims Act cases. In United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., it unanimously held that liability under the False Claims Act depends...more
6/20/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reimbursements ,
Safeco Insurance Co of America v Burr ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al ,
Whistleblowers
Summary -
Two more broker-dealers became the latest financial institutions to settle with the SEC for failing to maintain and preserve electronic communications. What distinguishes these settlements from the 17 prior...more
Summary -
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a revised policy for Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP), with new guidance on how the DOJ will consider corporate procedures for employees’ business-related...more
Summary -
Top U.S. Department of Justice officials announced the DOJ’s first-ever pilot program on corporate compensation incentives and clawbacks, as well as new policies on preservation of corporate communications, at...more
Summary -
The Department of Justice recently fine-tuned and codified the United States Attorney’s Offices (USAO) Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (VSD Policy), defining what actually constitutes voluntary self-disclosure,...more