I thought it was bad in 2009 when the SEC charged a company’s FCPA compliance officer with an FCPA violation relating to bribes paid to foreign officials, but this is worse. Reuters reports (via FCPA Blog) that in Russia, a court has ordered the arrest of Alexander Bokov on charges of extorting $46 million from […]
Regulatory Enforcement
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Fraudster Gets 27 Months Prison for ‘Laughable,’ ‘Harebrained,’ ‘Stupid’ Scheme
The SEC called the scheme “brazen.” The defendant’s own lawyer called it “laughable,” “harebrained,” “crazy” and “stupid,” and declared that it “had to fail from the outset.” Those are just some of the adjectives and reactions that emerge when you and your girlfriend, an administrative assistant to a high-level Disney executive, send “anonymous letters in […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Federal Bar Lawyers Fear SEC “Cop-on-the-Beat” Turning Into “Cop-on-Furlough”
Yesterday, 41 members of the Federal Bar Association’s Securities Law Committee Executive Council signed their names to a letter asking leaders in Congress to take prompt action to adequately fund the SEC. The members of the Executive Council described the SEC’s current budget situation as “critical,” observing that “the regulator of our capital markets is running […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC, U.S. Attorney, FBI and Others Launch Securities Fraud Task Force in Charlotte, NC
Relatively quietly, federal and state authorities have launched a new securities fraud task force in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Charlotte Observer reports that the task force will focus on insider trading, accounting fraud and other finance-related crimes. The member of the task force reportedly include: the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Web Watch: Best of the Week Ending Jan. 21
Throughout the week over at Securities Docket, I highlight the most interesting columns and blog posts from around the web on the subjects of SEC enforcement and securities litigation. Here is a digest of my picks for the week ending January 21: Remedial Compliance Programs: A Key Ingredient in the Enforcement Recipe FCPA Blog | Ryan McConnell and […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Q&A with the SFO’s Vivian Robinson on the Impact of the UK Bribery Act on U.S. Companies
On January 13, I moderated a webcast featuring Vivian Robinson QC, General Counsel of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. In the webcast, Mr. Robinson and a panel that also featured Barry Vitou, partner in Winston & Strawn’s London office; Richard Kovalevsky QC, 2 Bedford Row; and David Childers, CEO of EthicsPoint looked at “The Impact […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
A Conversation With Britain’s Top Fraud Investigator
As part of our occasional series of conversations with compliance executives and others influential in the corporate governance world, Compliance Week caught up with Richard Alderman, director of the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office, to talk about the new Bribery Act coming into effect in April, the broad new powers it provides to U.K. prosecutors, […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
False Claims Recoveries Top $3 Billion in 2010
The Obama Administration is making good on its promise to crackdown on fraud against the government generally, and public healthcare programs in particular, according to the latest False Claims Act recovery statistics. The Department of Justice collected $3 billion in civil settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in fiscal 2010, marking […]
Posted inInternal Controls
DoJ Assistant Attorney General Warns on FCPA Breaches
Concerned about Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance? You should be. Detailing a “new era” of FCPA enforcement, a top Justice Department official said those worried about more aggressive anti-bribery enforcement “are right to be more concerned.” “Our FCPA enforcement is stronger than it’s ever been – and getting stronger,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC Names Chief Counsel
The Securities and Exchange Commission has elected Joseph Brenner as Chief Counsel of the Division of Enforcement. Brenner is filling the Chief Counsel position previously held by Joan McKown, who left the agency in August after 24 years of service. In his new role, which he is expected to begin in the next several weeks, […]
