The question of how to define the parameters of personal liability for compliance officers in the financial services industry has been around for several years. In a 2015 speech, then-SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney...more
On Oct. 8 and 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) presented its annual program, The SEC Speaks in 2020. The Commission touted its virtual enforcement results, particularly in Chairman...more
On Sept. 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) adopted amendments to the rules that govern its whistleblower program in a 3-2 vote. Since the program’s inception 10 years ago, original...more
On the eve of the July 4th holiday, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) quietly published the second edition of the...more
On June 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which found that disgorgement awards that do not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits (gross profits...more
7/2/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 16, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a $27 million whistleblower award, its largest award of 2020 and the sixth-highest whistleblower award since the inception of its whistleblower...more
The COVID-19 crisis is truly global in scope. Public issuers over a course of mere weeks have been confronted with the myriad challenges presented to their workforce and business operations. Forced to navigate uncharted...more
During these unprecedented times, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Enforcement (“Division”) is keeping a close watch on activity that may run afoul of the federal securities laws and is reminding...more
With more than 130 highly trained enforcement accountants at his disposal, Matthew Jacques, the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), provided a firsthand glimpse into current enforcement...more
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that an investment adviser (IA) cannot willfully make a negligent disclosure in its Forms ADV. The decision vacated a combined $150,000 in fines that the...more
2017 marked the fortieth anniversary of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and showed continued robust enforcement against both individuals and companies by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities...more
3/9/2018
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The first half of 2017 has been eagerly anticipated following the record-setting year in 2016 for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement by both the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and...more
8/29/2017
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
White Collar Crimes
The Supreme Court held unanimously last week in Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 16—529 (2017), that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) often used disgorgement remedy was a penalty subject to...more
Following a record year for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement and policy declarations affecting corporate actors, recent statements by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirms that the new administration...more
2016 was a record-setting year for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement, as both the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recovered well over $2 billion in...more
1/26/2017
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
On Oct. 31, James McClung, a former Louis Berger International Inc. executive, self-surrendered to the Bureau of Prisons to begin his year-and-a-day sentence for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)....more
Appearing before the annual Securities Docket Conference in Washington, DC on October 13, Kara Novaco Brockmeyer, the Chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s FCPA Unit, laid out the Commission’s FCPA enforcement...more
Both the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have continued their focus on anticorruption enforcement in 2015. Although there was a decline in enforcement...more
4/20/2016
/ Corporate Fraud ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
Despite a decline in enforcement actions by the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the first half of 2015 has continued to highlight the relevance and ever-evolving effects of the...more
10/14/2015
/ Aerospace ,
Africa ,
Angola ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Avon ,
BHP Billiton ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Clean Companies Act ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivative Suit ,
DPA ,
Eli Lilly ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
Fokker ,
Football ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Goodyear ,
Hospitality Programs ,
India ,
Indictments ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Money Laundering ,
Olympics ,
PBSJ Corporation ,
PetroTiger ,
Popular ,
Public Utility ,
Racketeering ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Settlement ,
Soccer ,
Sports ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
UK Bribery Act ,
Wal-Mart ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud ,
World Cup
Over the course of 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have continued their aggressive enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). This has led to critical...more
On Monday, September 22, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an award to an anonymous foreign whistleblower of an estimated $30 million-plus payment that more than doubles the largest previous amount....more
The first half of 2014 has seen several important developments in the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) as well as other anti-corruption laws worldwide. The FCPA has been in existence for more than 35...more
Although delivered 15 years before the Securities and Exchange Commission even established its whistleblower program, Jerry Maguire's iconic lesson "Show Me The Money!" found new meaning last Tuesday. On October 1, 2013, the...more
As BakerHostetler recently reported in its FCPA Mid-Year Update, the phenomenon of parallel prosecutions is gaining popularity as more countries enact and enforce anti-corruption legislation....more
8/22/2013
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Canada ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act
On July 17, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Asadi v. G.E. Energy (USA) L.L.C. that whistleblowers are only eligible for protection under Dodd-Frank when they make disclosures directly...more