Transaction Monitoring Under the FCPA
On June 14, 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Morgan Stanley alleging a breach of its fiduciary duty to customers and unjust enrichment by, among...more
The Nutter Securities Enforcement Update is a periodic update of noteworthy recent securities enforcement activity, settlements, decisions, and charges. We provide brief summaries that highlight recent enforcement action...more
The disposal of hardware in the wrong manner can leave an organization offside its regulatory obligations under privacy legislation. Depending on the residence of the individuals or entities whose personal data is stored by...more
The SEC is reportedly probing whether recent stock sales by Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal “violated insider-trading rules.” News of the investigation came less than a week after Tesla accused the Commission of...more
Morgan Stanley shook the financial world yesterday with the announcement that it’s planning to drop $13 billion on a deal to purchase online discount brokerage E-Trade—the “biggest takeover by a major American lender since...more
The United States has been the global leader in the enforcement of anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws for several decades. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted in the United States in 1977 in order to...more
Late Friday, the Federal Trade Commission hit Facebook with a $5 billion fine for the social media company’s range of privacy violations over the past few years....more
Chevron has dropped its $33 billion bid for Anadarko, ending the energy industry’s “fiercest takeover battle in 15 years” and leaving smaller rival Occidental “poised to become the dominant force in the largest oil field in...more
The US and China have resumed trade talks in an effort to cool down an increasingly heated trade war between the economic powerhouses....more
Uber’s throwing in the towel on Otto, its self-driving truck unit that was at the center of an IP-theft scandal with Waymo and will shift its focus to autonomous cars....more
The world’s keeping a wary eye on Turkey’s economic well-being, especially given the precipitous drop in the value of the country’s currency (which has pushed up prices for consumers and corporations) and President Erdogan’s...more
In naming Gregory Abel and Ajit Jain vice chairs, Berkshire Hathaway took another big step this week in laying out LAWB (Life After Warren Buffet)....more
Representatives of the US’s biggest stock exchanges have questioned the SEC’s plan to change how markets work by altering the current “maker-taker” system and imposing new transparency and conflict-of-interest rules on...more
Food and consumer products conglomerate Unilever’s making a big play for the Asian market with its $2.7 billion deal to buy Carver Korea, a South Korean-based skin care specialist....more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which the plaintiff claimed he was wrongfully terminated from employment at Morgan Stanley after the company discovered he reported alleged illegal activities to...more
According to a memo circulating amongst Republican-party leaders as of February 13th, Republicans in the House of Representatives are planning to propose a significant curtailment of the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
On January 13, 2017, the Sixth Circuit in Verble v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC, declined an opportunity to be the third federal appellate court to address the definition of “whistleblower” under Dodd Frank’s...more
The headline a few days ago was the arrest of VW exec Oliver Schmidt during an ill-advised trip to Miami last week. But the DOJ also indicted five other top executives over their role in VW’s emissions cheating scandal. No...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently issued a no-action letter to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney L.L.C. (“Morgan Stanley”) that will streamline the process for its wealth management clients to participate...more
ValueAct Capital Mgmt, an activist investor, has taken a $1.1 billion stake in Morgan Stanley with 38 million shares that represent about 2% of shares outstanding. Unlike normal activists (at least for now), ValueAct took the...more
The Security and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) recent $1 million settlement with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“MSSB”) marked a turning point in the agency’s focus on cybersecurity issues, an area that the agency has...more
SEC Approves IEX Proposal to Launch National Exchange, Issues Interpretation on Automated Securities Prices - On June 17, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") approved the application of Investors'...more
SEC Chicago Regional Director David Glockner spoke at a PLI Conference in New York on June 6 regarding the SEC’s data security regulations and enforcement efforts. Mr. Glockner acknowledged frustration with the Division of...more
US banks made a strong showing in part 2 of the latest round of the Fed’s stress tests. Only Morgan Stanley didn’t pass unconditionally (concerns over the company’s “internal controls and processes” tripped it up), while the...more
Last week, the SEC fined Morgan Stanley $1 million for two data security failures resulting in the exposure of personal information of 730,000 of its customers. Andrew Ceresney, the director of enforcement at the SEC stated,...more