President Trump signed an executive order ("EO") titled "Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology" that signals a radical shift in the federal government's posture towards digital assets and the...more
The ruling that the SEC acted arbitrarily in denying Coinbase's crypto rulemaking petition, issued in the waning days of the Gensler-era SEC, invites swift action under an Atkins-led SEC....more
A new presidential administration is likely to bring change across the federal government, perhaps nowhere more starkly than at the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which has greatly expanded its enforcement reach...more
The Development: On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice's ("DOJ") Criminal Division announced its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program ("Pilot Program"), designed to reward whistleblowers who report information...more
8/20/2024
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Recently, a senior officer from the SEC's Division of Enforcement defended the penalties the Commission has levied on firms for failing to capture and retain their employees' "off-channel" electronic communications, and, in...more
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement continues to slowly rebound from pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) resolved 13 corporate FCPA...more
The Background: The CFTC Division of Enforcement ("Enforcement") recently issued an advisory on new enforcement policies that increase the agency's focus on corporate accountability through increasing civil penalties,...more
In light of the DOJ’s most recent guidance on the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications by corporate personnel, this White Paper addresses issues and challenges that companies are facing in this area...more
10/18/2023
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Workplace Communication
In Short -
The Situation: The California legislature passed landmark climate bills that surpass emissions disclosure requirements of any other existing state law. The bills are branded as the nation's first comprehensive...more
9/28/2023
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Doing Business ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
In Short -
The Situation: The civil action of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") against Archegos Capital Management LP and its CFO is but one of many civil and criminal matters arising out of Archegos's...more
9/28/2023
/ CFTC ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Security-Based Swaps
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
The largest-ever award highlights the importance of whistleblowers to the SEC's biggest cases.
On May 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") awarded $279 million to a whistleblower, the agency's largest...more
Each year, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") dedicate substantial resources to investigating and...more
In Short -
The Situation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") has reopened the comment period for its January 2022 proposal to amend Exchange Act Rule 3b-16 to broadly expand the...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement has yet to rebound from the immediate pre-pandemic period. In 2022, DOJ and SEC resolved eight corporate FCPA matters for $878 million, including four resolutions coordinated...more
3/3/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In Short -
The Situation: Decentralized finance ("DeFi") is a rapidly growing sector that, by definition, eschews centralized financial institutions altogether. Misconduct that has accompanied that growth has drawn the...more
In Short -
The Situation: Congress recently amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") to exempt certain "M&A brokers" from registration as broker-dealers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
In 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, the use of special purpose acquisition companies ("SPACs") as a means of taking companies public grew exponentially. SPAC IPOs raised a total of more than $160 billion in that five...more
The SEC's Proposal -
On January 26, 2022, the SEC released a rulemaking proposal that, among other things, would expand the definition of "exchange" under Rule 3b-16 of the Exchange Act. ...more
The Biden administration took office in January 2021, announcing aggressive and sweeping anticorruption initiatives to tackle corruption around the world, labeling corruption a national security priority, and signaling a...more
1/28/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has left little doubt that his commission will closely monitor activity in the cryptoasset markets and the actions of decentralized finance, or DeFi platforms, as investor interest continues to grow....more
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggests SEC will aggressively police crypto assets and decentralized finance ("DeFi") platforms while seeking expanded authority to regulate these fast-growing industries....more
8/10/2021
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Gary Gensler ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") in recent years have worked closely together to target companies and individuals for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and other...more
The Situation: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations ("EXAMS") released a Risk Alert on March 29, 2021, reminding broker-dealers of their obligation to comply with anti-money laundering ("AML")...more