In SEC v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court held that the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud.
The decision limits the SEC’s authority to seek civil...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released an annual summary, on November 15, 2022, of actions brought by the Division of Enforcement (“Division”) over fiscal year 2022 (“Enforcement Summary”), providing an...more
12/13/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Climate Change ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
Penalties ,
Private Funds ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Whistleblowers
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a major decision on May 18, 2022 holding Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) administrative adjudications unconstitutional on multiple...more
5/31/2022
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Article II ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Right to a Jury ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Seventh Amendment
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler addressed the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) Summit on November 10, 2021. During his remarks, he outlined a potentially more expansive role for the SEC...more
The Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Division) released its Annual Report on November 2, 2020, providing information concerning its activities over the past fiscal year and outlining key...more
11/23/2020
/ American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ,
Annual Reports ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Steering Committees ,
Trading Suspension ,
Whistleblowers
The 2020 Examination Priorities of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were announced on January 7, 2020, and cover eight broad topics:
- Protection...more
2/1/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
ETFs ,
Examination Priorities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Innovation ,
Investor Protection ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Retail Investors ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Exchange
The CFTC’s Division of Enforcement (Division) released its Annual Report on November 25, 2019, summarizing the Division’s activities over the past year.1 In FY 2019, the CFTC filed 69 enforcement actions, down from 83 in FY...more
12/16/2019
/ Annual Reports ,
Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
CFTC Enforcement Manual ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Customer Protection Rule ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Disgorgement ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
False Reporting ,
Fraud ,
Individual Accountability ,
Integrity Policies ,
Investor Protection ,
Market Manipulation ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Reporting ,
Spoofing ,
Swaps ,
Whistleblowers
On November 2, 2018, the SEC Enforcement Division (“Division”) released its Annual Report summarizing the past year’s enforcement activity. In the 2018 fiscal year, the first full fiscal year that Stephanie Avakian and Steven...more
12/7/2018
/ Annual Reports ,
CEOs ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investor Protection ,
Personal Liability ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD)
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) published two sets of interim rules on October 10, 2018, implementing certain provisions of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”). In addition to...more
10/16/2018
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Interim Rule ,
ITAR ,
Mandatory Declarations ,
National Security ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Petrochemicals ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
President Trump signed into law the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) on August 13, 2018, which was included as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). FIRRMA...more
9/28/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Declaration ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Fees ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Judicial Review ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Personal Data ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dealt a blow to the U.S. government’s extraterritorial enforcement power on Friday, August 24, 2018, in prosecuting alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices...more
8/31/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Non U.S. Person ,
Physical Presence Test ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
After conferees from the U.S. House of Representatives (House) and U.S. Senate (Senate) reached agreement on the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), the House on Thursday, June 26, 2018, passed...more
8/1/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Private Equity ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. House of Representatives (the House) on June 26, 2018, passed legislation designed to reform and strengthen the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the Committee), the...more
6/28/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trump Administration
While the rules regarding CFIUS review have remained largely unchanged over the past decade, CFIUS has operated under a new paradigm in recent years. After the U.S. government blocked just two transactions from its inception...more
6/21/2018
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Export Controls ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Passive Investments ,
Pending Legislation ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Rollbacks ,
Sanctions ,
Telecommunications ,
Transfer of Control ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
ZTE
In a speech at the New York City Bar White Collar Crime Institute on May 9, 2018, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a new U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) policy designed to encourage coordination among law...more
5/15/2018
/ CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Fines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forfeiture ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personal Liability ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
As the United States Congress debates new legislation to strengthen reviews of cross-border transactions for potential national security concerns, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the...more
5/15/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Non-US Entities ,
Passive Activity ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. government has recently been active with respect to regulating cryptocurrencies. For its part, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently released guidance—issued in the form of...more
4/9/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
ETFs ,
Executive Orders ,
Hackers ,
New Guidance ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency
In a decision with substantial implications for Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") enforcement, on February 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously narrowed the scope of anti-retaliation...more
2/23/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers