The Department of Justice has announced yet another pilot program, adding to their “mix of carrots and sticks” designed “to promote responsible corporate citizenship.” The new whistleblower pilot program, which is still under...more
3/25/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Extortion ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
“Call us before we call you.” With this message, on January 10, 2024, the Southern District of New York announced the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program (Pilot Program), which seeks to encourage individual participants in...more
1/25/2024
/ Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Pilot Programs ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On October 4, 2023, US Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is adopting a new Mergers & Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy, incentivizing companies to voluntarily disclose...more
10/10/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Mergers ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Safe Harbors ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On February 22, 2023, the US Department of Justice issued a nationwide policy for all US Attorney’s Offices (USAOs) outlining the circumstances in which a company may receive credit for voluntary self-disclosure (VSD)....more
On January 17, 2023, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. (AAG Polite) announced changes to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP). The CEP, which applies to all Criminal...more
1/25/2023
/ Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Forfeiture ,
Restitution ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more
10/5/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Text Messages
On September 15, 2022, Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco announced new guidance for the DOJ’s corporate enforcement policies, which is memorialized in the Memorandum on Further...more
On July 21, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging Ishan Wahi (Wahi), a former product manager at a large cryptocurrency trading platform (the Platform) - along with his brother Nikhil Wahi...more
7/28/2022
/ Conspiracies ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
Last week, yet another US Department of Justice (DOJ) official reportedly stated new corporate settlements “most likely” will include a requirement that the company’s chief compliance officer (CCO), as well as the chief...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced the unsealing of a first-of-its-kind indictment involving a digital asset “insider trading” scheme. The indictment charges Nathaniel...more
6/8/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
FBI ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Wire Fraud
Our quarterly Financial Crime Horizon Scanner for the US summarizes key financial crime related legal and regulatory changes expected over the next 2 years and provides electronic links to key resources.
We hope that you...more
5/2/2022
/ Belarus ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
On January 27, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in United States v. Connolly, overturning the 2018 fraud convictions of two former traders at a large financial institution. A...more
2/4/2022
/ Appeals ,
Bank Fraud ,
British Bankers' Association ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Libor ,
Misleading Statements ,
Reversal ,
UK ,
Wire Fraud
On December 17, 2021, a financial institution agreed to pay $200 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission for allowing employees to discuss business on their...more
1/7/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Fines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
WhatsApp ,
White Collar Crimes
On October 28, 2021, Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa O. Monaco gave remarks explicitly warning companies that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) intends to increase its efforts and devote additional resources to...more
11/2/2021
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Government Investigations ,
Individual Accountability ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Policy Statement ,
Professional Misconduct ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
On October 8, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Cyber-Digital Task Force issued an 83-page comprehensive “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” (Framework), signaling the DOJ’s increased focus on prosecuting...more
On August 14, 2020, the US Department of Justice (the DOJ) issued its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Opinion Procedure Release in six years, which relayed that it did not intend to pursue an enforcement action...more
8/25/2020
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Banks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fees ,
Foreign Banks ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Multinationals ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Subsidiaries
On June 1, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released revised guidance for evaluating a company’s corporate compliance program. Since its creation in 2017, the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (Guidance) has...more
The US Department of Justice has taken its first enforcement action against COVID-19 fraud, illustrating its previously stated commitment to prosecute “bad actors” attempting to exploit the global health crisis. On March 22,...more
As we all respond to COVID-19 (the coronavirus), we should keep an eye on the responsive measures being taken by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and consider how those measures might impact companies and individuals...more
On February 26, 2020, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut reinforced the Second Circuit’s recent decision to limit prosecutors’ ability to pursue Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges against foreign...more
3/4/2020
/ Acquittals ,
Agency Relationship ,
Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
On December 13, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a revised Export Control and Sanctions Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations (Revised EC/S Policy), clarifying its prior guidance on voluntary...more
1/14/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
Remediation ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On November 20, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the latest revisions to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Corporate Enforcement Policy (the Corporate Enforcement Policy). The revised language provides...more
12/3/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Remediation ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is increasingly using the money laundering statute to prosecute individuals in corruption and bribery cases. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is the primary statute prohibiting...more
11/12/2019
/ Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Equador ,
Extortion ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Forfeiture ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) of 1986 ,
Venezuela ,
Willful Misconduct
On September 16, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted three precious metals traders for allegedly violating six criminal statutes, including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act...more
9/27/2019
/ Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Racketeering ,
RICO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Whistleblowers
Last week, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released its updated guidance on how prosecutors should evaluate corporate compliance programs. The revised guidance reiterates and expands on the hallmarks of successful...more