Washington is in a period of closely divided government. The Democrats have the White House; the Republicans have a bare majority in the House; and Democrats have a bare majority in the Senate. In practice, this means policy...more
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In two landmark decisions, the Supreme Court and the 1st Circuit significantly pared back the scope of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes. In Ciminelli v. United States, a political corruption case, the...more
In 2018, an investment professional sued the firm he co-founded for wrongful termination and federal privacy law violations associated with the former employer’s remote accessing into a desktop computer it had purchased for...more
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On March 30, 2023, OFAC announced a settlement agreement with Wells Fargo for 124 apparent violations of three different sanctions programs (Iran, Syria and Sudan), all related to a legacy Wachovia Bank...more
4/18/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Sanction Violations ,
Wells Fargo
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The DOJ recently announced several policy updates tethering resolution of criminal investigations to a company’s compensation and bonus programs.
These updates include executive compensation focused...more
CryptoLink is a compilation of news stories published by outside organizations. Akin aggregates these stories, but the information contained in them does not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of the firm. Akin's...more
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On March 1, 2023, the SEC and DOJ filed insider trading charges against a public company executive alleging he traded pursuant to 10b5-1 trading plans he adopted while he was in possession of material...more
On Tuesday, February 7, the Division of Examinations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released its 2023 Examination Priorities. Private fund sponsors and managers should pay attention to the Priorities for two...more
Whether or not there is a thaw in the long “crypto winter,” U.S. policymakers seem determined to bring some regulatory certainty to the industry. And, contrary to claims that the dramatic events of last fall would undercut...more
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The recent indictment and multiple regulatory enforcement actions brought against a crypto trader alleged to have committed market manipulation highlight the ongoing fractured oversight of the crypto markets...more
2/3/2023
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Howey ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swaps ,
Wire Fraud
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In the wake of the Supreme Court’s “Bridgegate” decision in Kelly v. United States, a divided panel in the 2nd Circuit reversed its prior decision in United States v. Blaszczak, and held that a federal...more
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On January 17, 2023, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. announced revisions to the DOJ Criminal Division’s corporate enforcement policy that offer new incentives to self-disclose corporate...more
This December issue of Crypto Link covers the significant developments surrounding FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), including its bankruptcy filing and the charges against and arrest of its CEO, Samuel Bankman-Fried. In the midst of...more
This edition of CryptoLink follows the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, and lawmakers in Congress are now outlining ambitious agenda priorities for next Congress, putting digital assets near the top of the list. Following the FTX...more
12/15/2022
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
On October 26, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long-awaited final rules implementing the “clawback” provisions of Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act....more
In October 2022 the European Council approved the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, one of the first attempts globally at comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrency markets. The regulation extends to money...more
Late last year, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler warned private fund managers that they should be prepared for increased regulatory scrutiny. Shortly thereafter, in February 2022, the SEC announced...more
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On September 15, 2022, Deputy AG Lisa O. Monaco released a Memorandum and provided remarks announcing several DOJ policy changes to prioritize and strengthen the Department’s prosecution of corporate crime....more
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The SEC and the FCA each publish annual reports, which can offer a useful insight into their enforcement actions.
The data in the reports only represents a snapshot of the regulators’ activities, but is...more
On May 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it was nearly doubling the size of the Enforcement Division’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit in order to pursue cases involving crypto asset offerings,...more
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The SEC’s Division of Examinations published a risk alert that, in the context of a focus on MNPI, highlighted observed deficiencies related to the use of alternative data by private fund managers and other...more
Materiality in the context of the federal securities laws has been a topic of repeated focus by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the courts over the years. That attention, however, has not necessarily produced...more
On February 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued proposed rules (the “Proposed Rules”) for private fund advisers that, if adopted in their current form, could impose significant additional costs...more
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Proposed amendments bolster cyber disclosure and incident reporting requirements to better inform investors about a company’s risk management, strategy and governance relative to cyber issues.
Under the...more
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Proposed amendments bolster cyber disclosure and incident reporting requirements to better inform investors about a company’s risk management, strategy and governance relative to cyber issues. ...more