Regulatory Enforcement

Corporate compliance officers in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are feeling a little uneasy these days over a wave of settlements with the Department of Health and Human Services that raise the specter of holding senior executives criminally liable for the compliance failures of others. At issue is new language contained in many of the […]

The Canadian Securities Administrators today issued its annual report on enforcement activities. The CSA announced (click here) that during calendar year 2008, CSA members commenced 215 matters against 416 individuals and companies, and concluded 123 cases involving 322 individuals and companies that resulted in monetary sanctions and orders towards costs totaling approximately …. Wait for […]

Deferred prosecution agreements were the hip new accessory for companies under investigation during the Bush Administration. Now they may become fashionable on a permanent basis. Experts say the use of deferred and non-prosecution agreements—which has soared in the last five years—isn’t likely to recede any time soon. Indeed, recent scrutiny of DPAs and NPAs, along […]

It’s official: Mary Schapiro has been confirmed as chairman of the Securitiesand Exchange Commission. The Senate confirmed Schapiro on Jan. 22 for a term expiring June 5, 2014. The veteran regulator joins the SEC from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, where she most recently served as chef executive. Schapiro previously served as an SEC commissioner […]

Broc Romanek makes a good observation today on his blog at TheCorporateCounsel.net about the conspicuous absence of any type of announcement from the SEC upon Chairman Cox’s resignation Tuesday: Apparently, SEC Chair Chris Cox resigned on Inauguration Day, even though it didn’t make news until later yesterday – and the SEC still hasn’t issued a […]

Amid questions and criticisms of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s oversight and enforcement capabilities, one of its own commissioners has joined the call for policy changes to shore up its enforcement, including the end of a penalty pre-approval pilot program that’s been criticized by some as tying the hands of its staff. In a recent […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed that, as expected, chairman Christopher Cox, resigned yesterday as President Obama took office. Cox’s departure was confirmed by SEC spokesman John Nester. On Wednesday evening, President Obama appointed commissioner Elisse Walter as acting Chairman. Obama has nominated veteran securities industry regulator Mary Schapiro to serve as chairman. Her […]

The financial crisis has prompted a surge in class-action securities lawsuits—although the surge seems largely confined to businesses in the financial services sector for now. Two widely respected scorekeepers—NERA Economic Consulting and Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse—say the number of such lawsuits filed last year was up sharply from 2007 and earlier in […]

Good news for compliance officers: You now have solid evidence that the benefit of implementing an effective compliance program far outweighs the cost, in the form of the massive Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements swallowed by Siemens AG and three of its foreign subsidiaries. Siemens, a German conglomerate that is one of the largest engineering […]

A flurry of antitrust enforcement actions in the last month has corporations suddenly paying more heed to whether their merger deals will pass muster with federal regulators. Since early December, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have filed complaints three times to undo completed acquisitions—even though the deals were exempt from notification requirements […]