The new Director of the Enforcement Division, Gurbir Grewal, assumed his position during the Third Quarter of 2021. Even if he hits the ground running it typically takes time to adjust to the environment. ...more
11/3/2021
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
False Statements ,
Financial Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Misrepresentation ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Price Manipulation ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The fourth quarter of calendar year 2020 continued trends evidenced in the third quarter of the year, although far fewer cases were initiated. There were actions brought in a number of key areas such as offering fraud cases,...more
The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE” or the “Office”) announced its 2019 Examination Priorities just before Christmas and the current Government partial-shutdown (here). While nonemergency...more
1/10/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cybersecurity ,
Excessive Fees ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Government Shutdown ,
MSRB ,
OCIE ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Keeping ahead of global anti-corruption trends is critical in today’s business markets. The Dorsey Anti-Corruption Digest, which puts global trends at your fingertips, puts you ahead. The deep experience of the Dorsey...more
9/8/2017
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Internal Controls ,
Money Laundering ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
Rolls-Royce ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Theft ,
Uber
The SEC filed its first action against a municipal adviser for breach of fiduciary duty based on a provision amended by Dodd-Frank. The agency also continued to file insider trading actions in an administrative forum....more
3/18/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Auditors ,
Australia ,
Breach of Duty ,
CFTC ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Fraud ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Offering Fraud ,
PCAOB ,
Rebates ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Unregistered Brokers
The Commission brought its first action based on Exchange Act Section 15B(c)(1) as amended by Section 275 of Dodd-Frank. Under that provision municipal advisors and their associated persons have a fiduciary duty to their...more
The SEC’s examination staff has, in recent years, become very aggressive. Some claim it is the front edge of enforcement. Regardless of your view, it is typically beneficial to follow their suggestions. ...more
The Commission resolved actions with SAC Capital founder Steven Cohen and the former Chairman of Dewey & Leboeuf in addition to filing settled actions against Goldman Sachs and State Street. The agency also filed another...more
The Commission closed out the week before the holidays with a joint press conference with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney. The U.S. Attorney and the Director of Enforcement announced actions against former hedge fund manager and...more
Undisclosed conflicts by investment advisers and others is a focus of the current SEC enforcement program. In its most recent action, the conflicts came from a firm with an indirect, undisclosed controlling interest in the...more
The EB-5 program was designed by Congress to stimulate job creation and capital investment by foreign investors. In return for an initial investment of $1 million in a new commercial enterprise that creates or preserves at...more
This was the period of admissions. The SEC secured admissions in three actions over the period with beginning the week of Thanksgiving and continuing into the beginning of December. Cases filed during the period include: A...more
12/4/2015
/ Admissions of Liability ,
Audits ,
Australia ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Offering Fraud ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Spoofing ,
UK
Conflicts and investment fund fraud cases were the focus this week. The SEC brought two actions in each category. In addition, a settled insider trading action was filed....more
11/6/2015
/ CFTC ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
UK
Conflicts of interest and a failure to disclose related party transactions continue to be key themes in Commission actions involving investment advisers. Undisclosed conflicts, as well as a failure to disclose related party...more
The SEC’s apparent preference for administrative proceedings as a venue for its enforcement actions continues to draw criticism. H.R. 3798 is now pending in the House of Representatives. The bill is tilted the “Due Process...more
10/30/2015
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Hearings ,
Australia ,
Best Execution ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
CFTC ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fraud ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
JOBS Act ,
Mary Jo White ,
Misappropriation ,
Offering Fraud ,
Price Manipulation ,
Rating Agencies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
Self-dealing and undisclosed conflicts are a central theme of many of the enforcement actions brought recently by the SEC. Those themes are the predicate for the Commission’s action which centers on an investment manager who...more
A second insider trading action was brought by the Commission against a senior banking official based on the same take-over for which he was previously charged — but a different securities trading account is at the center of...more
8/14/2015
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Banking Sector ,
BHP Billiton ,
Confidential Information ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Offering Fraud ,
Popular ,
Regulation SHO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Underwriting
Failure to disclose conflicts of interest and/or to comply with firm procedures are the predicates for a series of SEC enforcement actions involving regulated entities. The most recent example of these trends is an action...more
The SEC announced its first whistleblower award in a retaliation case this week. The agency also brought an insider trading case, an action against an investment adviser, its general counsel and auditor based on a conflict, a...more
5/1/2015
/ Australia ,
Banks ,
Books & Records ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retaliation ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Conflicts of interest are a central focus for the SEC. Indeed, conflicts are at the core of many of the actions brought against regulated entities. And, an undisclosed conflict was at the center of actions brought against a...more
Conflicts of interest involving market professionals continue to be a focus of SEC enforcement. In many cases the conflict is uncovered by the inspection staff, OCIE. This time, however, the information came from an article...more
The broken windows approach to enforcement continued this week. The Commission bundled together eight settled administrative proceedings centered on going private transactions in which the Respondents failed to update their...more
Recently Julie M. Rieve, Co-chief, Asset Management delivered remarks titled Conflicts, Conflicts Everywhere to the IA Watch 17th Annual IA Watch Compliance Watch Conference (Feb. 26, 2015)(here). Conflicts are in fact the...more
The Commission brought cases related to HFT this week, but not against those traders. One action involved the operations of one of the largest dark pools. A second involved two exchanges. Each action involved specific types...more
1/16/2015
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Dark Pool ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Industry Examinations ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misappropriation ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swaps
The SEC filed a series of actions in the last two weeks which included a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. One action focused on a Swiss investment firm giving advise in the U.S. without registering with the Commission....more
12/8/2014
/ Administrative Hearings ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Market Manipulation ,
Misappropriation ,
Pump and Dump ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan