On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first enforcement action against a registered investment adviser (RIA) with no ties to a broker-dealer regarding so-called “off-channel”...more
4/10/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
Key Point -
Just over two weeks after the SEC announced the settlement of its first NFT enforcement action against Impact Theory, on September 13, 2023, the SEC announced its second NFT enforcement action against SC2, the...more
No financial services firm or professional welcomes an investigation by a regulator, let alone enforcement action. Each investigation proceeds differently depending on the target of the investigation, the subject matter and...more
Key Point -
Just shy of three weeks after Judge Torres held that the digital asset XRP is not itself a security,1 Judge Rakoff held that the SEC had adequately pled that certain digital assets, such as the UST and LUNA...more
Key Points -
SEC Enforcement and PCAOB Enforcement both are pursuing more significant sanctions against auditors, particularly with respect to civil money penalties.
Expect 2023 enforcement against auditors to focus...more
Key Points -
On March 30, 2023, OFAC announced a settlement agreement with Wells Fargo for 124 apparent violations of three different sanctions programs (Iran, Syria and Sudan), all related to a legacy Wachovia Bank...more
4/18/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Wells Fargo
Key Points -
The DOJ recently announced several policy updates tethering resolution of criminal investigations to a company’s compensation and bonus programs.
These updates include executive compensation focused...more
Key Points -
On March 2, 2023, DOJ announced that its NSD would hire more than 25 new prosecutors to investigate and prosecute sanctions evasion, export controls violations and similar economic crimes. Consistent with...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
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
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
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in federal court in California premised on the novel legal theory that the insider trading laws apply where an insider uses confidential information...more
8/25/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Confidential Information ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Private Funds ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
Key Points -
The SEC and the FCA each publish annual reports on their enforcement actions.
Whilst enforcement data only shows a snapshot of the regulators’ activities, there is much to be learned from these reports,...more
Amendments Come on the Heels of Supreme Court Decisions on SEC Disgorgement -
On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Embedded in the NDAA’s more than 1,400 pages is Section...more
- On June 23, 2020, the SEC and OCIE issued its latest Risk Alert describing common deficiencies it has observed in recent examinations of registered investment advisers that manage private equity funds or hedge funds.
-...more
7/6/2020
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fees ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Non-Public Information ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- In Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501, the Supreme Court upheld the SEC’s ability to obtain disgorgement as a form of equitable relief in civil actions in federal court, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5).
- However, the Court...more
6/30/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Market participants should review and assess their compliance procedures to prevent and detect insider trading risks associated with COVID-19.
- Companies should increase their vigilance regarding cybersecurity threats...more
4/1/2020
/ CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
Phishing Scams ,
Pump and Dump ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wire Fraud
Key Points:
The 2nd Circuit has issued a landmark decision for insider trading enforcement that will make it significantly easier for the government to prosecute insider trading in criminal cases.
The decision may also...more
• The Supreme Court will review whether the SEC has the authority to obtain disgorgement in actions to enforce the federal securities laws.
• Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Kokesh v. SEC, 137 S. Ct. 1635 (2017),...more
11/12/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Certiorari ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Penalties ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
• The prosecution of individuals remains a key priority for DOJ FCPA enforcement actions.
• DOJ is “busier than ever,” focused on “higher-priority,” “bread-and-butter,” and “meat-and-potatoes” cases.
• There is no...more
• Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a memorandum detailing seven nonexhaustive factors to be considered by its attorneys in making the important determination of whether to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam...more
• On November 16, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released its 11th annual Report on Enforcement, detailing the agency’s Enforcement activities in 2017.
• Key highlights are that Enforcement priorities were...more
11/30/2017
/ Annual Reports ,
Anti-Competitive ,
CFTC ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
FERC ,
Market Manipulation ,
Reliability Standards ,
Self-Reporting ,
Transparency
On October 7, 2016, the Integrity Vice President (INT) of the World Bank Group (the “Bank”) released its annual report for fiscal year 2016 (the “Report”). In the Report, INT provides insight into the Bank’s efforts to combat...more
In recent years, taking advantage of expanded jurisdictional provisions in Dodd-Frank, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought an increasing number of enforcement actions, including complex matters with...more