Aaron Nicodemus
Aaron Nicodemus covers regulatory policy and compliance trends for Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass.
Contact info
News BriefSEC fines Cantor Fitzgerald $6.75M for failing to disclose pre-IPO talks
Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald will pay a $6.75 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission for making misleading statements regarding two special purpose acquisition companies that it controlled.
News BriefU.S. Appeals Court overturns Nasdaq board diversity rule
A U.S. Appeals Court overturned a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that had required companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange to disclose whether their boards had women or minority members–and if not, why not.
PremiumWorries DOJ is ‘dumping’ AI responsibilities on compliance departments in ECCP update
When the DOJ released its revised Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, it turned some heads. Tucked into a section on risk assessments was a strongly worded series of questions that appeared to shoulder compliance teams with the responsibility for ensuring the safe use of AI tools by their firms.
PremiumCompliance’s fit in AI governance: Reading between lines of DOJ’s updated ECCP guidance
The Department of Justice’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs has made the importance of artificial intelligence governance frameworks clear, but it didn’t say what role compliance should play. Here’s the answer.
News BriefDOJ hits McKinsey & Co. subsidiary with $123M criminal penalty over bribes in South Africa
A subsidiary of McKinsey & Co. will pay nearly $123 million to the Department of Justice to settle allegations that it bribed officials in South Africa to win consulting contracts.
PremiumKPMG report on regs in 2025: Use data analytics to predict, respond to Trump administration changes
Regulations are sure to be rolled back under President Donald Trump, but the question is which regulations, and how much? Is your organization as prepared to respond when regulations are loosened as it was when they were tightened?
OpinionGerman firm Aiotec to pay $14.5M to settle Iran sanctions violation
German petrochemical parts supplier Aiotec agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle allegations that it engaged in a four-year conspiracy to dismantle and ship a plastics manufacturing plant owned by a U.S. company to Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
News BriefSEC levies no fine against Kiromic BioPharma after material omissions self-disclosure
Kiromic BioPharma will pay no fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission after self-reporting that it failed to disclose material information about two cancer drugs to investors.
News BriefU.S. Appeals Court ruling in Tornado Cash case opens door for AML regulatory unwind
In striking down penalties against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash for violating U.S. sanctions, a federal appeals court may have started to chip away at anti-money laundering regulations established by Democrats even before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
PremiumCould your firm potentially be the subject of a DOJ whistleblower action? Time to get ready
Now that the U.S. Department of Justice launched a new pilot whistleblower program, many questions remain. What types of companies might find themselves to be the subject of a criminal investigation stemming from a whistleblower tip? And what should they do to prepare for a whistleblower tip?
PremiumTop E&C fails of 2024: Boeing, TD Bank, RTX/Raytheon on compliance naughty list
The biggest Compliance Fails of 2024 show the real-world consequences of noncompliance for the companies that faltered, but also for their customers and their employees.
News BriefFrench defense contractor Thales Group under investigation for bribery in Asia
French defense and aviation contractor Thales Group is under investigation by authorities in the U.K. and France for allegedly participating in bribery and corruption.
News BriefTrump names Scott Bessent to be Treasury secretary, with a clear deregulation agenda
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, named by Donald Trump on Friday as his nominee for Treasury Secretary, has a clear mandate to deregulate the financial markets should he take the helm.
News BriefDOJ offers antitrust compliance guidance in ECCP update
The Department of Justice has added antitrust compliance guidance in an update to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.
PremiumSEC enforcement priorities under Trump: Fewer disclosures, less ESG-focused, more crypto
Change is likely coming to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement priorities with the pending handover of the White House to Republican President-elect Donald Trump. Adjust your compliance priorities accordingly.
News BriefAdani Group CEO, seven business executives charged in huge $250M bribery scheme
Eight business executives, including the billionaire owner of Indian energy company Adani Group, were charged with fraud for their alleged roles in a multi-million bribery scheme to win a solar energy contract in India.
News BriefFederal Reserve Bank of Richmond examiner pleads guilty to insider trading
A bank examiner and senior manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond pled guilty to insider trading after allegedly misappropriating confidential information on seven banks to make profitable trades.
News BriefBIT Mining changes business model, pays $10M fine to resolve FCPA violations
A publicly traded cryptocurrency mining company will pay $10 million and completely change its business model to one with “lower corruption risk” as part of a settlement over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), two regulators announced.
News BriefMetLife subsidiary fined $178K by OFAC for issuing premiums to Iran-controlled entities
A subsidiary of MetLife will pay more than $178,000 for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran when it provided insurance policies to entities in the United Arab Emirates owned or controlled by Iran.
News BriefEuropean Commission accuses Meta of anticompetive practices, issues $841M fine
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been fined nearly 798 million euros (U.S. $841 million) by the European Commission to resolve the agency’s long-running investigation into alleged “abusive practices” by Facebook Marketplace.