The Department of Justice has announced yet another pilot program, adding to their “mix of carrots and sticks” designed “to promote responsible corporate citizenship.” The new whistleblower pilot program, which is still under...more
3/25/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Extortion ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Technological advances, especially in Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing, will continue to amaze in the coming years. They will open up vast new opportunities while presenting profound regulatory, litigation, and...more
3/1/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Losses ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
NAIC ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Technology ,
Website Design ,
Websites
As of January 10, 2024, US securities exchanges may list Bitcoin ETFs for trading. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts hope this decision signals a broader adoption of cryptocurrency in the United States. Perhaps it does, but...more
On August 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settled enforcement action against Impact Theory LLC (Impact Theory) for the unregistered sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that the SEC determined...more
On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more
10/5/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Text Messages
On July 21, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging Ishan Wahi (Wahi), a former product manager at a large cryptocurrency trading platform (the Platform) - along with his brother Nikhil Wahi...more
7/28/2022
/ Conspiracies ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
Last week, yet another US Department of Justice (DOJ) official reportedly stated new corporate settlements “most likely” will include a requirement that the company’s chief compliance officer (CCO), as well as the chief...more
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R- WY) introduced new proposed legislation on June 7, 2022, which would classify the vast majority of digital assets as commodities, and empower the Commodities Futures...more
6/14/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FERC ,
FinTech ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Investment Contract ,
NIST ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 3, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the expansion of its newly styled Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (Unit) (formerly known as the Cyber Unit), housed within its Division of...more
5/10/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Howey ,
Lenders ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Working Groups
Our quarterly Financial Crime Horizon Scanner for the US summarizes key financial crime related legal and regulatory changes expected over the next 2 years and provides electronic links to key resources.
We hope that you...more
5/2/2022
/ Belarus ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
On April 13, 2022, the Texas State Securities Board and Alabama Securities Commission issued separate emergency cease and desist orders (C&Ds) against Sand Vegas Casino Club and its two co-founders (Respondents). The C&Ds...more
4/27/2022
/ Casinos ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Digital Assets ,
Fraud ,
Howey ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
State Securities Regulators
There is no love lost between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto industry with tensions escalating over the past year. So it seems fitting that on Valentine’s Day, the SEC brought a...more
On January 26, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule (Proposed Rule) amending - and significantly broadening - a rule that defines certain terms used in the statutory definition of “exchange.”...more
On December 17, 2021, a financial institution agreed to pay $200 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission for allowing employees to discuss business on their...more
1/7/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Fines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
WhatsApp ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 26, 2020, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut reinforced the Second Circuit’s recent decision to limit prosecutors’ ability to pursue Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges against foreign...more
3/4/2020
/ Acquittals ,
Agency Relationship ,
Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
Understanding the boundaries of legal privilege in corporate internal investigations is critical. When counsel, either internal or external, misunderstands these boundaries, the result can be disastrous....more
12/20/2019
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Confidential Communications ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Distributors ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Legal Advice ,
Legal Advice Privilege ,
Outside Counsel ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Upjohn Warnings ,
Work-Product Doctrine
In a somewhat surprising move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered into a $24 million settlement with Block.one on September 30, 2019, over its unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) that raised upwards of...more
10/18/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
On September 16, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted three precious metals traders for allegedly violating six criminal statutes, including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act...more
9/27/2019
/ Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Racketeering ,
RICO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Whistleblowers
Along with other regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has been signaling its intention to pursue those in the cryptocurrency sphere that it believes are capitalizing on the excitement and novelty of...more
On July 24, 2019, both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced landmark settlements with Facebook. The agreements were significant not only because of the hefty fines...more
8/5/2019
/ British Airways ,
Cambridge Analytica ,
Consent Order ,
COPPA ,
Corporate Fines ,
Data Privacy ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Misleading Statements ,
Opt-In ,
Personal Liability ,
Privacy Laws ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
Social Media ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices