John Ryan, the former CEO of Rabobank, N.A., was fined $20,000 by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for his alleged role in obstructing a Bank Secrecy Act program examination that would lead to significant fines for the bank.
Kyle Brasseur
KPMG Korea fined $350K for audit procedure failures
The Korean affiliate of Big Four audit firm KPMG was fined $350,000 by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for failures in its quality control policies and procedures to protect against improper alterations of work papers.
FTC warns against COPA laws for hospital mergers
The Federal Trade Commission is urging state lawmakers to avoid the use of Certificates of Public Advantage for hospital mergers, warning the certificates increase costs for patients, slow wage growth for healthcare workers, and lead to compliance difficulties.
BIS charges Chinese cable giant with export control violations
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security charged China’s largest cable and wire manufacturer Far East Cable with export control violations related to its alleged dealings with telecommunications company ZTE to circumvent U.S. restrictions against Iran.
PwC fined $2.1M for audit failures regarding BT Group fraud disclosures
PwC will pay a reduced fine of 1.75 million pounds (U.S. $2.1 million) as part of sanctions against the Big Four firm for failures in its fiscal year 2017 audit at BT Group after the U.K. telecommunications company adjusted its financials to reflect a fraud scandal in Italy.
OFAC designates steel giant MMK in latest Russian sanctions
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, one of the world’s largest steel-producing companies, as part of its latest round of sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
JPMorgan, UBS among three fined by SEC over ID theft programs
The Securities and Exchange Commission separately settled charges with three financial institutions that each allegedly failed to provide reasonable policies and procedures to identify relevant red flags of customer identity theft.
British American Tobacco reserves $545M for U.S. sanctions settlement
British American Tobacco disclosed it has set aside £450 million (U.S. $545 million) for the resolution of an investigation into apparent sanctions violations by two U.S. agencies.
Volkswagen fined $1.1M under GDPR for unauthorized data collection
Volkswagen has agreed to pay €1.1 million (U.S. $1.1 million) to resolve allegations of violating the General Data Protection Regulation when a camera on one of its test vehicles recorded nearby drivers without their knowledge.
MidFirst Bank avoids penalty in OFAC resolution
MidFirst Bank will not pay a civil penalty after self-reporting to the Office of Foreign Assets Control apparent violations of weapons of mass destruction proliferator sanctions at the bank.


