Eighteen months after President Trump signed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”) which broadened the power of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) to review foreign...more
2/13/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Persons ,
Investment ,
Investment Opportunities ,
National Security ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The national security implications of corporate deals involving foreign investors continues to be a headline-grabbing topic, now more than ever as the United States engages in heated trade negotiations with China amidst...more
8/1/2019
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Financial Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation
California’s ambitious new data privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), will go into effect on January 1, 2020 and promises to bring a new era of digital regulation to America’s shores. ...more
3/4/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws
Last year, a group of U.S. military veterans and the relatives of troops killed in Iraq filed a lawsuit against several large international pharmaceuticals, accusing them of aiding and abetting terrorism by selling products...more
8/31/2018
/ AML/CFT ,
Antiterrorism Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Corporate Liability ,
Crime Victims ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Just Compensation ,
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) ,
Multinationals ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Terrorist Acts ,
White Collar Crimes
Auditors of public companies will be required to move beyond a simple “pass or fail” opinion and include significant new information in audit reports under rules proposed this year by the Public Company Accounting Oversight...more
In the wake of last month’s historic cyber breach of Equifax, which resulted in the theft of sensitive personal information belonging to over 140 million Americans, states have wasted no time in seeking a greater role in...more
10/13/2017
/ Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equifax ,
Government Investigations ,
Hackers ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management
Ending months of speculation about when regulators would wade into the world of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently brought its first enforcement actions against...more
10/13/2017
/ Blockchain ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On 30 September 2017, Part 3 of the UK Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the “CF Act”) came into force creating new corporate offences for failing to prevent the facilitation of UK or overseas tax evasion. Similar to the standard...more
On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the country’s three primary credit reporting bureaus, announced it had suffered a major cybersecurity breach that could potentially affect half of the U.S. population. According to the...more
9/25/2017
/ Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Equifax ,
Hackers ,
Identity Theft ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
As of August 28, 2017, insurance companies, banks, and other financial services companies regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) must comply with an initial wave of new cybersecurity requirements...more
In its latest effort to combat money laundering within the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has issued a new Geographic Targeting Order (“GTO”) broadening its scrutiny of shell companies...more
Creating a potential new impediment for collaboration between UK and US investigators, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York recently held that evidence derived from compelled testimony cannot be used in a...more
7/26/2017
/ Bank Fraud ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Inadmissible Evidence ,
Libor ,
Market Manipulation ,
Rabobank ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Self-Incrimination ,
Testimony ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives threatens to shake up the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement program in a historic manner....more
6/12/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Investigations ,
Pending Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Wells Notice ,
White Collar Crimes
Last week’s massive ransomware attack should serve as a wake-up call that companies across all industries and regions must take the threat of global cyber attacks seriously. Although investigators are still uncovering...more
5/17/2017
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Hackers ,
Malware ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
On 5 April 2017, the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (the “Department”) issued a call for evidence (the “proposal”) for a public register (the “foreign ownership register”) which would contain...more
Last year’s proposed comprehensive framework for cybersecurity rules for large financial institutions is suddenly facing an uncertain future. With the comment period having closed as of February 2017, the framework was facing...more
3/13/2017
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Deregulation ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
NIST ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trump Administration
Even before President Trump’s nomination of Jay Clayton as the next Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”), signs have been appearing that changes are afoot within the Division of...more
3/7/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Deregulation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
On January 10, 2017, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) released a proposed update to its popular cybersecurity blueprint for organizations and businesses, known as the Framework for Improving...more
On 17 January 2017, the UK Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”),[1] the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”),[2] and the Brazilian Ministério Público Federal (“MPF”) announced an $800 million global settlement with Rolls-Royce plc and...more
1/23/2017
/ Angola ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Automotive Industry ,
Azerbaijan ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Kazakhstan ,
Oil & Gas ,
Penalties ,
Pipelines ,
Rolls-Royce ,
SFO ,
Thailand ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
In a case of “cyber meets securities fraud,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) recently indicted three foreign nationals on charges of insider trading, wire fraud, and computer...more
1/17/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Confidential Information ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Email ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hackers ,
Insider Trading ,
Internet ,
Legal Representatives ,
Malware ,
Mergers ,
Non-Public Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Wire Fraud
The Supreme Court in Shaw v. United States recently held that the federal bank fraud statute does not require that defendants cause, or intend to cause, an actual financial loss to the financial institutions they seek to...more
12/20/2016
/ Bank Fraud ,
Bank Fraud Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hackers ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Shaw v United States
Friends and relatives of corporate insiders who knowingly receive and trade on inside information now confront greater exposure for federal securities laws violations. On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court held in United...more
12/9/2016
/ Confidential Information ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Financial Markets ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Tippees ,
Tippers ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman ,
White Collar Crimes
In a settlement highlighting the need for public companies to implement – and adhere to – effective internal controls, United Airlines “United” recently paid a $2.4 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange...more
12/8/2016
/ Airlines ,
Airports ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Personal Benefit ,
Port Authority ,
Public Officials ,
Quid Pro Quo ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transportation Industry ,
United Airlines ,
White Collar Crimes
After a conventional presidential campaign, determining the policy priorities and direction of the incoming administration with respect to the Justice Department’s white collar law enforcement responsibilities can be a...more
11/30/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Bribery ,
BSA/AML ,
Corruption ,
Cybersecurity ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medical Marijuana ,
National Security ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
RICO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Surveillance ,
White Collar Crimes
In late September 2016, Andrew Ceresney, Director of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), signaled the SEC’s renewed focus on the key role played by audit committee members and external auditors as...more
11/7/2016
/ Accountants ,
Accounting Controls ,
Accounting Fraud ,
Audit Committee ,
Auditors ,
Earnings Reports ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ernst & Young ,
GAAP ,
PCAOB ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
White Collar Crimes