The Department of Justice’s push to incentivize companies to voluntarily self-disclose potential misconduct reached its next stage in the form of a safe harbor policy regarding mergers and acquisitions.
Kyle Brasseur
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Fidelity unit fined $900K by FINRA for due diligence lapses
Fidelity Brokerage Services agreed to pay a $900,000 penalty levied by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority regarding alleged due diligence failures caused by errors in the firm’s automated screening system.
Posted inRisk Management
FinCEN crafting rule proposal for AML and sanctions whistleblower program
Andrea Gacki, the new director at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, said the agency is working to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the establishment of an anti-money laundering and sanctions whistleblower program.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC calls out Advisor Resource Council compliance structure in lawsuit
The Securities and Exchange Commission criticized the structure of the compliance program in place at Texas-based investment adviser Advisor Resource Council as part of a lawsuit against the firm and one of its former representatives.
Posted inEurope
U.K.-based ADM unit fined $7.9M for historic AML shortcomings
ADM Investor Services International was ordered to pay nearly £6.5 million (U.S. $7.9 million) by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for not timely addressing anti-money laundering systems and controls deficiencies first alleged by the regulator in 2014.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
PCAOB rule update wave begins with confirmation standard
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced the adoption of a new standard regarding auditor use of confirmation that replaces the previous version that hadn’t been notably changed in more than 30 years.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Maxim Group fined $800K by SEC over SARs filing lapses
New York-based broker-dealer Maxim Group agreed to pay an $800,000 fine in settling with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the firm’s alleged failures to file required suspicious activity reports and properly execute certain short sales.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America caught in CFTC swap reporting sweep
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America agreed to pay penalties totaling $53 million across settlements with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission addressing alleged swap reporting failures among their respective affiliates.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Shinhan Bank America fined $25M for repeat AML compliance failures
The American branch of South Korea-based Shinhan Bank agreed to pay $25 million across settlements with three separate regulators for admitted violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Exelon, ComEd fined $46M by SEC over bribery scandal
Exelon and its subsidiary Commonwealth Edison agreed to pay $46.2 million as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to their Illinois bribery and lobbying scandal that previously earned ComEd a deferred prosecution agreement.