After months of anticipation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled the details of its new Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (the Corporate WB Program or the Program)....more
8/8/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Pilot Programs ,
Self-Reporting ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Overview - On 3 April 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) announced the first settlement with a stand-alone registered investment adviser for, among other things, failures to maintain and preserve...more
4/15/2024
/ Asset Management ,
Compliance ,
Data Preservation ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Firms ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Text Messages ,
Workplace Communication
On 7 March 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it is launching a new whistleblower pilot program designed to reward individuals who report acts of significant corporate misconduct or financial wrongdoing...more
It is a dramatic understatement to describe 2023 as a busy year in the United States for asset management regulation. With 24 rules adopted and 18 new rules or rule amendments proposed, the US Securities and Exchange...more
1/22/2024
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Capital Markets ,
Compliance ,
Digital Assets ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
Liquidity ,
Money Market Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Swing Pricing ,
Whistleblowers
INTRODUCTION - On 22 December 2023, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense spending bill for 2024. Buried hundreds of pages into the NDAA is the new Foreign Extortion...more
On 16 October 2023, the Division of Examinations (Division) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its examination priorities for the 2024 fiscal year (the Report). The Division released this Report...more
11/3/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Duty of Care ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Firms ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On 4 October 2023, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced a new US Department of Justice (DOJ) Safe Harbor Policy for voluntary self-disclosure made in connection with mergers and acquisitions (M&A)....more
INTRODUCTION - On 7 February 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Examinations (the Division) released its 2023 examination priorities. As expected, the Division’s priorities highlight areas...more
On 30 March 2022, the Division of Examinations (the Division) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its examination priorities for the 2022 fiscal year. The Division highlighted five “significant focus...more
In a move long expected by this firm and other experts in this area, on 3 June 2021, the Biden administration issued a policy statement tethering global anti-corruption efforts as vital to the country’s national security...more
In this second episode of our series on the government's response to the Paycheck Protection Program, white collar practitioners Chris Nasson, David Rybicki, Neil Smith, and Hayley Trahan-Liptak discuss the second phase of...more
In this first episode of our series on the government's response to the Paycheck Protection Program, white collar practitioners Chris Nasson, David Rybicki, Neil Smith, and Hayley Trahan-Liptak provide an overview of the...more
2/23/2021
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement ,
Lenders ,
Loan Applications ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
The long-anticipated wave of civil enforcement actions involving participants in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has begun. On 12 January 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the first civil settlement...more
Four months after the expiration of the $659 billion forgivable loan relief program established by the CARES Act, the federal government has disbursed approximately 5.2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans....more
White collar practitioners Neil Smith, William Semins, Nicole Stockey, and David Peet discuss their key takeaways from this year’s 37th International Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act....more
12/9/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
INTRODUCTION - On 3 July 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the second edition of the Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (Resource...more
On 22 June 2020, in a much anticipated decision, the Supreme Court held that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “the Commission”) can continue its longstanding practice of seeking disgorgement as an equitable...more
6/26/2020
/ 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)
As the nation’s storefronts reopen and businesses attempt to return to normalcy, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is gearing up to respond to fraud and securities violations relating to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
While uncertainty has been the overarching theme of the global COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is beyond doubt: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s distribution of more than $2 trillion in stimulus...more
While uncertainty has been the overarching theme of the global COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is beyond doubt: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s distribution of more than $2 trillion in stimulus...more
On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Liu v. SEC, once again taking up the question of whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) may seek disgorgement as equitable relief for a securities...more
3/6/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Certiorari ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Penalties ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
Just one month into the new year, Russian courts have already handed down three new criminal judgments for violations of anti-competition laws, a stark contrast to previous years that often passed without a single conviction...more
AGENDA -
- SEC Enforcement and Exams in 2019
- Risk Alerts and Other Hot Button Issues
- Enforcement Priorities and Selected Actions Pertaining to Investment Management
- A Review of Recent SEC Statements and...more
In August 2019, federal prosecutors indicted Feng Tao, a Chinese scientist conducting research at the University of Kansas (“KU”), on fraud charges. The indictment of a Chinese national by federal prosecutors and the...more
In a speech to the Economic Club of New York on September 9, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Chair Jay Clayton lamented foreign regulators’ inconsistent enforcement of their own anti-corruption laws that impose...more