All articles by Aaron Nicodemus
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ report casts compliance officers in unfair light
The BuzzFeed “FinCEN Files” investigation purportedly uncovered evidence of a catastrophic, international collapse of internal controls within the world banking system. But that argument is misleading, to the point of being disingenuous.
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What CCPA-affected businesses need to know about California’s next privacy initiative
Businesses with operations in California should expect their data privacy compliance obligations to get a lot more complicated next year with the California Privacy Rights Act expected to pass in November.
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Former Rite Aid compliance exec charged with insider trading
Armed with insider information about problems with a merger with Walgreens, a Rite Aid compliance executive who oversaw its corporate code of conduct sold company stock to save himself and his family over $150,000, according to the SEC.
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CCO for investment firm altered docs to cover compliance failures, SEC says
A New York investment advisor and broker-dealer firm and its former chief compliance officer have been fined and censured for not fixing compliance failures identified by two federal agencies, then altering documents in an attempt to convince investigators the failures had been addressed.
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FinCEN seeking comment on AML program overhaul
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed a plan to issue AML guidance every two years to encourage financial institutions to align their Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs with the agency’s enforcement priorities.
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Brockmeyer at TPRM: Regulator expectations for monitoring third parties
Former chief of the SEC’s FCPA Unit Kara Brockmeyer shared what regulators are looking for when they assess a company’s relationship with its third parties at Compliance Week’s TPRM Virtual Summit on Thursday.
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EY chairman: Auditors should work harder to find fraud
The chairman and chief executive of Big Four auditing firm EY says auditors should do more to uncover fraud while conducting external audits, a topic the industry has historically been reluctant to tackle.
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SEC charges chief compliance officer in stock fraud scheme
A New Jersey-based asset management firm and its president and chief compliance officer are facing SEC charges for “cherry-picking” profitable stocks for new and favored accounts that diminished returns for other clients.
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CFTC issues own guidance on evaluating compliance programs
Like the Department of Justice before it, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued guidance to companies on how it will evaluate compliance programs in connection with enforcement matters.
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Ex-GPB Capital CCO pleads guilty to stealing SEC information
A former SEC official facing federal felony charges for allegedly using confidential agency information to help him land the top compliance post at GPB Capital Holdings has pled guilty to a misdemeanor in federal court.
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AIG whistleblower claims in lawsuit he was fired for uncovering fraud
A former attorney for AIG has alleged in a federal whistleblower lawsuit that he was fired after he complained about fraudulent activity related to an attempt to spin off a separate legal services company.
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With CFPB in ‘retreat,’ California eyes state consumer finance agency
California wants to create its own state consumer finance protection agency because the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in “retreat,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says.
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SEC issues two whistleblower awards, cancels meeting on program changes
The SEC has announced nearly $4 million in whistleblower awards this week, though changes to agency’s tipster program set to be discussed Wednesday will once again hit the back burner.
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Samsung heir indicted on market manipulation, accounting fraud charges
Lee Jae-yong, the heir and de facto leader at Samsung, was indicted by South Korean prosecutors on charges related to a 2015 merger of two subsidiaries and alleged irregularities in accounting practices at another subsidiary.
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SEC to consider limiting large whistleblower awards, weakening retaliation rule
The SEC had scheduled a Sept. 2 vote on controversial changes to its whistleblower program that, if passed, could weaken the agency’s prohibition of retaliation against whistleblowers and limit large rewards. The meeting has been canceled.
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China proposes joint audit to end dispute with U.S. regulators
In an attempt to end the stalemate over audits of publicly traded Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges, China has reportedly proposed to allow U.S. regulators to conduct a trial joint inspection of a state-owned enterprise.
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SEC loosens risk disclosure requirements for public companies
In a split decision, the Securities and Exchange Commission has loosened requirements public companies must follow when they describe risk factors and legal proceedings in their financial statements.
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BorgWarner fined $950K by SEC for downplaying asbestos liabilities
Car parts manufacturer BorgWarner has agreed to pay $950,000 as part of a settlement with the SEC for allegedly failing to calculate and report $700 million in future asbestos liability claims.
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Super Micro Computer, former CFO charged with accounting violations
A California-based server and cloud computing firm has agreed to pay $17.5 million as part of a settlement with the SEC to resolve charges of improperly booked revenue and understated expenses.
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Mass. pharma company will pay $20.75M to settle FCA lawsuit
A Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company will pay $20.75 million settle a whistleblower’s allegations that the company knowingly promoted misleading instructions for a skin lesion drug that caused doctors to submit false claims to Medicare.
