On March 27, 2025, the Futures Industry Association hosted a webinar with Brian Young, the director of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Enforcement. Although he noted that the opinions...more
4/1/2025
/ CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Self-Reporting ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 25, 2025, the Division of Enforcement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) issued an advisory to Division staff on how to evaluate self-reporting, cooperation and remediation credit...more
2/27/2025
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Remediation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, to pause Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) actions for 180 days until she issues revised FCPA...more
2/13/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division launched the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (the Program), following up on its announcement in March 2024 of a plan to offer whistleblower awards....more
8/6/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Government Agencies ,
Pilot Programs ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On April 15, 2024, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Criminal Division unveiled a new Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosures for Individuals that offers non-prosecution agreements (NPAs) to individuals who voluntarily...more
4/24/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 8, 2024, in a decision that underscores the potential viability of fair-notice defenses to U.S. regulators’ rule interpretations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a $6.5 million penalty...more
1/19/2024
/ Appeals ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Holding Companies ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) as part of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. FEPA criminalizes demand-side bribery by foreign officials...more
1/9/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Extortion ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Hobbs Act ,
NDAA ,
White Collar Crimes
In a speech on October 24, 2023, the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Enforcement Division, Gurbir Grewal, described the scenarios in which the commission would bring an enforcement action against...more
On October 17, 2023, the Division of Enforcement (the Division) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) issued an advisory to Division staff providing guidance on what recommendations the Division...more
In early March 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released several important updates to its policies related to corporate crime enforcement and compliance programs. We discuss below the following key topics:
(i) The DOJ...more
3/13/2023
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Entities ,
Corporate Financing ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Institutions ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Pilot Programs ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced revisions to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy. The revisions follow Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco’s September 2022...more
1/24/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Commodities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
In a recently published memorandum, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced important updates to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) approach to investigating and prosecuting corporate crimes. In the...more
Remarks made by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials at the March 2022 American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) National Institute on White Collar Crime (the White Collar Conference) reflect the DOJ’s prioritizing white...more
Takeaways -
The DOJ will take a more proactive approach to FCPA investigations.
Companies seeking cooperation credit must disclose information about all culpable individuals, not just those “substantially involved” in...more
Forecasting the enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) under a new administration is difficult at best. However, the Biden administration is widely expected to be tougher on corporate crime than its...more
1/27/2021
/ Anti-Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
While enforcement agencies have yet to indicate that they intend to put their pens down in response to COVID-19, there is anecdotal evidence that some agencies have slowed their investigations as remote working impacts matter...more
3/31/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Market ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Markets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
France ,
Market Abuse ,
Risk Management ,
Social Distancing ,
Tax Evasion ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney General ,
Backstop Agreements ,
BEPS ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
DACA ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debt Financing ,
Debtors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Disgorgement ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Down Rounds ,
Drug Pricing ,
EBITDA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Issuers ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Elections ,
GILTI tax ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Individual Accountability ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intercreditor Agreements ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
IRS ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Japan ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Listing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
PCAOB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Preferred Shares ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Refinancing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Litigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party Release Agrements ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Valuation ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 6, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC or Commission) Division of Enforcement (Division) published an advisory on self-reporting and cooperation for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)...more
One year into the Trump administration, it remains difficult to forecast what lies ahead with respect to regulatory and white collar enforcement activity. Perhaps most instructive are recent public statements of officials at...more
1/29/2018
/ Broken Windows ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Material Disclosures ,
Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Omissions ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
Upon discovering a potential violation, a company is often faced with the dilemma of whether to self-report the incident to its regulator or attempt to deal with the incident through exclusively internal means. On September...more
Forecasting the enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump administration is difficult at best. Previous statements from both President Donald Trump and his nominee for attorney general, U.S....more
2/2/2017
/ Attorney General ,
Banks ,
Corporate Liability ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deregulation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Personal Liability ,
Political Appointments ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
The Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) released updated guidance on the Antitrust Division’s Leniency Program, on January 17, 2017. The Leniency Program allows corporations and individuals who self-report their cartel...more
1/28/2017
/ ACPERA ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Cartels ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Immunity ,
Leniency Programs ,
Sherman Act ,
White Collar Crimes