DOJ has introduced the new three-year Pilot Program, managed by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, effective August 1. Under this Pilot Program, whistleblowers meeting certain criteria may be...more
8/9/2024
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FinCEN ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
In a recent interview with Law360, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal reiterated the agency’s commitment to the encouragement of voluntary self-reporting, going as far as to say that...more
Under the newly announced pilot program, individuals who fully cooperate and voluntarily provide the Criminal Division with information on certain types of corporate and white-collar offenses may receive an NPA in exchange...more
Building on the recent passage of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), at the American Bar Association’s 2024 National Institute on White Collar Crime conference in San Francisco earlier this month (2024 ABA...more
3/19/2024
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Fraud ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Adding to federal prosecutors’ tool kit in fighting global corruption, on December 14, 2023, Congress passed with bipartisan support, the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA). As part of the National Defense Authorization...more
1/5/2024
/ Amended Legislation ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Extortion ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Public Officials ,
Transparency
In connection with the Biden Administration’s ongoing crackdown on corruption, tax havens, and illicit financing, on December 11, Treasury released a Fact Sheet on its “efforts to address the illicit finance and national...more
On October 24, SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal addressed compliance professionals at the New York City Bar Association’s 2nd Annual Compliance Institute. His remarks focused on three topics: creating “a culture of...more
In an important policy announcement aimed at rewarding robust due diligence and compliance programs, DOJ announced that acquiring companies that promptly and voluntarily disclose criminal misconduct discovered at the acquired...more
10/10/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Policy Statement ,
Remediation ,
Restitution ,
Safe Harbors ,
Voluntary Disclosure
For years, regulators have emphasized that the starting point for maintaining an effective compliance program is understanding the particular risks the company faces. According to Munter, this same concept applies to...more
For years, the SEC has focused on broker-dealers complying with all applicable AML and financial sanctions laws and regulations, including the BSA and its implementing regulations. For example, in 2021, the Division issued a...more
The settlements announced by the SEC and CFTC on Monday are a continuation of the regulators’ focus on off-channel communications by employees of registered entities....more
8/11/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Retention ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mobile Apps ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement ,
Swap Dealers
In a March 3 speech at the ABA’s Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, Kenneth Polite, chief of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, announced that the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (the...more
On March 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department) launched a three-year Compensation Incentives and Clawbacks Pilot Program (Clawback Program) intended to incentivize companies to create more robust...more
3/30/2023
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Clawbacks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Incentives ,
Pilot Programs ,
Preemption ,
Section 10D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Monaco’s and Polite’s remarks, and the DOJ’s new policies and guidance, come amid the Department’s increasingly tough on corporate crime approach and emphasis on rewarding companies that have effective compliance programs...more
3/7/2023
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Compensation ,
Monaco Memo ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
On Nov. 3, 2022, the SEC announced a consent order against a registered investment adviser (RIA) and its chief executive officer (CEO) for failing to reasonably supervise one of the RIA’s investment adviser representatives...more
The compliance certification policy was first announced by Assistant Attorney General (Assistant AG) Kenneth Polite in March 2022, when he stated that for all criminal division “corporate resolutions (including guilty pleas,...more
10/21/2022
/ Certification Requirements ,
Certifications ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Plea Agreements
On September 29, 2022, FinCEN issued a final rule requiring most corporations, limited liability companies and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States to report information regarding their...more
10/7/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Domestic Corporations ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
U.S. Treasury
In prepared remarks delivered at New York University School of Law on Sept. 15, Deputy AG Monaco announced significant updates to the DOJ’s corporate criminal enforcement policies.
Deputy AG Monaco’s announcement...more
9/21/2022
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Personal Liability ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 3, 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland delivered a speech at the ABA Institute on White Collar Crime that underscored the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) commitment to prosecuting corporate crime and holding...more
Key Takeaways - Corporate enforcement and individual accountability are high priorities for new DOJ Criminal Division head Kenneth Polite. Companies should be proactive in implementing, monitoring, and improving their...more
The new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Gary Gensler has wasted little time in revisiting some of the policies enacted under his predecessor. On August 2, 2021, Chairman Gensler issued a public...more
The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act (Economic Aid Act), enacted into law on December 27, 2020, provides additional, much-needed relief to businesses and families economically impacted by...more
2/12/2021
/ Amended Rules ,
Borrowers ,
Civil Liability ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Liability ,
Economic Aid Act ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Lenders ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
New Rules ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Webinars
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) settled its first civil action for alleged fraud against the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) – the primary lending program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,...more
1/27/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Civil Liability ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
FIRREA ,
Fraud ,
Loans ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 1, 2021, Congress overrode President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, an omnibus bill that includes the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AMLA”). The AMLA...more
The question of how to define the parameters of personal liability for compliance officers in the financial services industry has been around for several years. In a 2015 speech, then-SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney...more