Key Points -
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s “Bridgegate” decision in Kelly v. United States, a divided panel in the 2nd Circuit reversed its prior decision in United States v. Blaszczak, and held that a federal...more
Key Points -
On January 17, 2023, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. announced revisions to the DOJ Criminal Division’s corporate enforcement policy that offer new incentives to self-disclose corporate...more
This December issue of Crypto Link covers the significant developments surrounding FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), including its bankruptcy filing and the charges against and arrest of its CEO, Samuel Bankman-Fried. In the midst of...more
This edition of CryptoLink follows the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, and lawmakers in Congress are now outlining ambitious agenda priorities for next Congress, putting digital assets near the top of the list. Following the FTX...more
12/15/2022
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
On October 26, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long-awaited final rules implementing the “clawback” provisions of Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act....more
In October 2022 the European Council approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, one of the first attempts globally at comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrency markets. The regulation extends to money...more
Late last year, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler warned private fund managers that they should be prepared for increased regulatory scrutiny. Shortly thereafter, in February 2022, the SEC announced...more
Key Points -
On September 15, 2022, Deputy AG Lisa O. Monaco released a Memorandum and provided remarks announcing several DOJ policy changes to prioritize and strengthen the Department’s prosecution of corporate crime....more
Key Points -
The SEC and the FCA each publish annual reports, which can offer a useful insight into their enforcement actions.
The data in the reports only represents a snapshot of the regulators’ activities, but is...more
On May 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was nearly doubling the size of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit in order to pursue cases involving crypto asset offerings,...more
Key Points -
The SEC’s Division of Examinations published a risk alert that, in the context of a focus on MNPI, highlighted observed deficiencies related to the use of alternative data by private fund managers and other...more
Materiality in the context of the federal securities laws has been a topic of repeated focus by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the courts over the years. That attention, however, has not necessarily produced...more
On February 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued proposed rules (the “Proposed Rules”) for private fund advisers that, if adopted in their current form, could impose significant additional costs...more
Key Points -
Proposed amendments bolster cyber disclosure and incident reporting requirements to better inform investors about a company’s risk management, strategy and governance relative to cyber issues.
Under the...more
Key Points -
Proposed amendments bolster cyber disclosure and incident reporting requirements to better inform investors about a company’s risk management, strategy and governance relative to cyber issues. ...more
The New Year Brings a New Enforcement Focus on Emerging Technology -
In 2021, newly confirmed members of the Biden administration set the stage for increased enforcement activity, surging resources to investigations and...more
Key Points -
The DOJ and CFTC have filed insider trading charges against a Houston-based energy trader for allegedly disclosing confidential information to a third party who then used the information to trade profitably....more
Private funds should be prepared for increased oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following a landmark year of enforcement cases. In 2021, the Commission brought 159 enforcement actions against...more
2/3/2022
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form PF ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signaled a new era of cybersecurity law (and accompanying enforcement) in his keynote address “Cybersecurity and Securities Laws” on January 24, 2022,...more
As previously reported, in August 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in SEC v. Panuwat, initiating the first enforcement action seeking to proscribe as prohibited insider trading the practice...more
Any doubts over whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission considers advisory fees to be a focus area for 2022 were dispelled over the past several weeks. In four separate public statements, the SEC and the Staff of...more
Key Points -
On October 6, 2021, the DOJ announced two new initiatives: the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative and the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.
The Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative will fight rising cyber threats...more
10/13/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain
Key Points -
The SEC has charged App Annie, Inc. and its former CEO with violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, which constitute the primary mechanism for enforcing insider trading violations.
This...more
On August 30, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced three enforcement actions against registered investment advisers for alleged cybersecurity failures involving cloud-based email systems. All three actions...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a long history of adopting novel theories in litigation to convince the courts to expand the scope of the federal insider trading laws.
The SEC's latest effort comes in an...more
8/31/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Confidential Information ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Private Funds ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud