More than two years after announcing the first round of settlements in the ongoing “off-channel communications” probe, the SEC recently announced another round of settlements with 26 financial firms, totaling $390 million in...more
Over the last several years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been laser-focused on the use of so-called “off-channel communications” in the financial services industry. On the theory that employees’ use of...more
4/22/2024
/ Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Electronic Communications ,
Employees ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
In Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, 601 U. S. ____, 2024 WL 478566 (2024), the United States Supreme Court (Sotomayor, J.) held that whistleblowers do not need to prove their employer acted with “retaliatory intent” to be...more
2/21/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Murray v UBS Securities LLC ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
In a landmark unanimous ruling late last week, Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, et al. 601 U. S. ____ (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court held that whistleblowers do not need to prove their employer acted with “retaliatory intent”...more
The United States Department of the Treasury has announced that it is working to address what it perceives as money laundering risks associated with investment advisers. Specifically, the agency asserts that absent consistent...more
1/11/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
The United States Department of the Treasury has announced that it is working to address what it perceives as money laundering risks associated with investment advisers. Specifically, the agency asserts that absent consistent...more
This presentation will review recent trends surrounding securities class action cases, including the impact on public companies, the industries being targeted the most, the factors most likely to trigger a lawsuit, recent...more
Over the last several years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) have been laser-focused on the use of so called “off-channel communications” in the...more
5/26/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Electronic Communications ,
Employees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Swap Dealers
The Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) has taken action against Genesis Global Capital, LLC (“Genesis”) and Gemini Trust Company, LLC (“Gemini”) (collectively, “Defendants”) in a recently-filed complaint...more
Over the last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been laser-focused on the use of personal devices by employees of the large Wall Street banks to conduct company business. The SEC’s investigations...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted on Wednesday to adopt a new rule requiring companies listed on a national securities exchange to claw back incentive-based executive compensation that was erroneously...more
On September 26, 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James (the “NYAG”) took definitive action in the wake of her warning last year that crypto lending platforms must register with her office or face legal action, filing...more
On September 16, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released a report on the Role of Law Enforcement in Detecting, Investigating, and Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related to Digital Assets pursuant to President...more
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has implications for whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act” or “The Act”). In Hong v. SEC,...more
8/4/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FHFA ,
Incentives ,
RMBS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
A class action lawsuit filed by users of a decentralized finance (“DeFi”) protocol managed by a decentralized autonomous organization, or “DAO,” may shed light on the potential legal liabilities of a DAO and its...more
New York’s chief law enforcement agency recently squandered an opportunity to bring much needed guidance to the digital assets space. On October 18, 2021, the Office of New York Attorney General, Letitia James (“NYAG”),...more
11/30/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
New York ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
State and Local Government ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
New York’s chief law enforcement agency recently squandered an opportunity to bring much needed guidance to the digital assets space. On October 18, the Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James (“NYAG”) issued a...more
11/11/2021
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Martin Act ,
New York ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
Last week, Coinbase Global Inc. (“Coinbase”) headed off confrontation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) by announcing it was shelving a much ballyhooed digital asset lending product, Lend. The announcement...more
In Securities & Exchange Comm’n v. Fowler, No. 20-1081, 2021 WL 3083655 (2d Cir. July 22, 2021), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court judgment awarding the Securities and Exchange...more
The Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James (“NYAG”) has filed a lawsuit to shut down technology company Coinseed. The state has accused the firm of selling unregistered securities in the form of digital...more
2/26/2021
/ Attorney General ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fraud ,
New York ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
For the first time outside of the originating case itself, a federal appeals court was called upon to apply the principles governing disgorgement in SEC enforcement actions established by the United States Supreme Court’s...more
8/21/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remand ,
Remedies ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A recent enforcement action offers a glimpse of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (“FINRA”) expectations for firms conducting anti-money laundering (“AML”) due diligence and transaction monitoring. On July 27,...more
In Liu v. Securities & Exchange Comm’n, No. 18-1501, 2020 WL 3405845 (U.S. June 22, 2020), the United States Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to seek disgorgement as an...more
In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, FINRA has announced that most FINRA staff will be working remotely, but will utilize remote work capabilities to remain “fully operational.” FINRA has also published guidance on its...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently issued guidance in connection with firms’ relationships with third-party service providers. These publications...more
2/28/2020
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cybersecurity ,
Examination Priorities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Market Access Rule ,
Market Participants ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Vendors