Last month, the SEC proposed new rules under the Advisers Act that, if implemented, would be the most significant enhancement of disclosure obligations for private fund managers since the Dodd-Frank Act.Citing investor...more
Over the past few years, the SEC has brought fewer insider trading and Material Non-Public Information (MNPI)-related cases compared to historical numbers. We expect to see a reversal of that trend in 2022.
The SEC has...more
2021 continued the trend of increased regulatory focus on privacy and cybersecurity for private investment funds in the U.S. and abroad. There are no signs of the trend leveling off any time soon. One of the topics that...more
Sanctions continue to be a dynamic area of regulation and enforcement. In its first year, the Biden Administration has already undertaken a number of different sanctions initiatives. The three examples below highlight the...more
3/9/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Asset Management ,
Asset Seizure ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Global Magnitsky Act ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency
Over the past week, the U.S., UK, and EU imposed sweeping sanctions rolled out by the US, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, outlined here. Also last week, the Department of Justice announced the launch of Task...more
3/7/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Asset Seizure ,
Biden Administration ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Forfeiture ,
Joint Task Force ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
A threshold question in many cryptocurrency inquiries is whether the digital assets qualify as securities under the federal securities laws. If so, then they are subject to a full suite of federal securities regulations....more
3/1/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Biden announced sanctions against Russia. Following an executive order issued on February 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
3/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
If 2021 was the year in which regulators and investors enthusiastically embraced environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations, by creating new legal and regulatory frameworks, then 2022 will be the year for...more
2/25/2022
/ Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
Private Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Sustainability
We reported last year that unprecedented SPAC deal volume signaled an increased risk for disputes given their unique structure, including risks associated with disclosure requirements, material non-public information,...more
The SEC’s push to regulate the next generation of blockchain-based applications will likely give rise to disputes and enforcement actions, particularly in the developing decentralized finance (DeFi) space....more
Last year, we wrote, “The regulatory and litigation risks for private funds are greater than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008.” That statement is even more true today....more
2/2/2022
/ Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Risk Management ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
The Second Circuit recently held that a denial of a motion to dismiss a criminal indictment based on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”) is immediately appealable under the collateral-order doctrine but concluded...more
Recently, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department, released a report on ransomware trends stating that during the first half of 2021, 68 different ransomware variants...more
10/28/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Biden Administration ,
Bitcoin ,
Blocked Person ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Digital Currency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Hackers ,
Internal Controls ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Virtual Currency
With new types of digital assets and related business on the rise, federal authorities have been busy investigating. Recently, the SEC, FinCEN and the CFTC have imposed some notable settlements involving cryptocurrency...more
8/27/2021
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
BitMEX ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
In 2015, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates issued a memorandum to the attorneys of the Justice Department articulating departmental policy on corporate misconduct. This memo became popularly known as the Yates Memo. It...more
8/4/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
White Collar Crimes
As the financial services industry prepares for expanded criminal and civil enforcement under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) with the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, FinCEN’s recent case against Capital One...more
The Second Circuit has recently held that the Government must account for rental income it denied a property owner during a period of illegal seizure even though the Government was able to establish probable cause at a...more
From February 23 – March 18th Proskauer will host its second annual Private Credit Summit. This interactive virtual event will bring together leaders in the Private Credit industry, including lenders, private equity firms,...more
3/5/2021
/ Borrowers ,
Compensation ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Executives ,
Creditors ,
Deal Price ,
Debt ,
Debt Market ,
Debtors ,
Direct Lending ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Fund Sponsors ,
Fundraisers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Investors ,
Liability ,
Liquidity ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Private Lenders ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Restructuring ,
Webinars
Summary of the Corporate Transparency Act under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 -
On January 1, 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”), which is part of the National Defense...more
On November 12, 2020, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order prohibiting U.S. persons from trading securities and related derivatives in “Communist Chinese Military Companies” (CCMCs), effective 60 days later on...more
2/8/2021
/ China ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trump Administration
Ransomware is a Serious and Growing Problem -
In recent years, Ransomware has evolved from merely encrypting files/disabling networks in solicitation of ransom, to sophisticated attacks that often involve actual data...more
12/15/2020
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Hackers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Strict Liability
On August 18, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is the primary regulator and administrator of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), issued a statement on enforcement of the BSA. The requirements of the BSA...more
9/17/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
National Security ,
Warning Letters
On April 28, 2020, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced that companies that received loans of more than $2 million through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) of the CARES Act will be closely scrutinized. Mr. Mnuchin’s...more
COVID-19 has created many new concerns for private fund managers; however, managers should be particularly mindful of heightened cybersecurity and fraud risks. With increased numbers of employees teleworking, there are...more
3/24/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Fund Managers ,
Fund Sponsors ,
Risk Management ,
Scams
The private fund industry is more in the public eye than ever before. Private capital and private markets have experienced massive growth over the last two decades, substantially outpacing the growth of public equity. We have...more
2/19/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Capital Markets ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Global Economy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Banks ,
OCIE ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Venture Capital