Silicon Valley-based tech company HeadSpin’s significant remedial actions in response to its chief executive’s alleged fraudulent behavior helped it settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission without being fined.
Internal Investigations
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Tencent fires 70 employees in latest anti-bribery crackdown
Chinese gaming and social media company Tencent said it fired nearly 70 employees last year as part of its ongoing anti-graft campaign and will stop doing business with 13 Chinese firms that have violated its anti-bribery standards.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Seven compliance areas to watch in 2022
If 2021 was about transition under the Biden administration, 2022 is looking as if it will be a year of action. CW Director of Compliance Programs & Training Julie DiMauro shares her list of key areas she expects to receive enhanced scrutiny in the year ahead.
Posted inEurope
Standard Chartered fined record $61.5M for liquidity reporting failures
The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority imposed a record fine of £46.55 million (U.S. $61.5 million) against Standard Chartered Bank for repeatedly misreporting a key metric to determine liquidity risk.
Posted inEthics & Culture
McDonald’s claws back $105M severance paid to disgraced former CEO
McDonald’s has agreed to drop its lawsuit against disgraced former CEO Steve Easterbrook, who will return more than $105 million in equity and cash he received upon the termination of his employment in 2019.
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Optimizing modern ESI investigations to find the facts swiftly
The Board of Directors needs an answer before the current reporting period ends. Furtive harassment needs to be uncovered and countermanded immediately. A regulatory agency needs immediate assurance that internal procedures will suffice, otherwise a compliance investigation will be initiated. The CEO needs to know whether terms of the M&A deal should be revised in the limited window of time.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
SEC: Akazoo to pay $38.8M in fraud case concerning SPAC merger
Akazoo, a music streaming subscription company based in Greece, reached a $38.8 million settlement with the SEC for allegedly defrauding investors out of tens of millions of dollars related to a 2019 SPAC merger.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Activision Blizzard compliance update: Personnel changes, transparency goals
Activision Blizzard announced the promotion of Jen Brewer to the role of senior vice president, ethics and compliance amid a series of other measures the embattled company is taking to enhance its culture.
Posted inEthics & Culture
When academic studies and hoax hotline claims go ‘off the rails’
Imagine this: An anonymous hotline tip comes through that a senior executive has engaged in insider trading. This scenario happened this summer as part of academic research, effectively leaving hundreds of unwitting corporate subjects to foot the bill for unnecessary follow-up conducted.
Posted inInternal Controls
Ask a CCO: How do you prevent whistleblower retaliation?
Seven senior compliance practitioners detail the steps their respective companies take to ensure whistleblowers are not retaliated against when reporting potential misconduct.
