More than two years after proposing them, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a series of controversial amendments to its whistleblower program designed to make the issuance of awards more streamlined and efficient.
Whistleblowers
Posted inEthics & Culture
Chapter 3: Carnival’s history as serial polluter catches up to it
This installment looks back at Carnival’s history of environmental law convictions, plea agreements with the DOJ, criminal fines, and environmental compliance plans (yes, there is more than one).
Posted inWhistleblowers
SEC continues torrid whistleblower pace with $10M award
More than a quarter of the SEC’s 94 whistleblower payouts since 2012 have come this fiscal year, the latest a more than $10 million award announced Monday.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Credit to JPMorgan Chase in this week’s banking-themed naughty/nice list
JPMorgan Chase, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America all either “Nailed It” or “Failed It” this week.
Posted inFinancial Services, Whistleblowers
AIG whistleblower claims in lawsuit he was fired for uncovering fraud
A former attorney for AIG has alleged in a federal whistleblower lawsuit that he was fired after he complained about fraudulent activity related to an attempt to spin off a separate legal services company.
Posted inWhistleblowers
SEC issues two whistleblower awards, cancels meeting on program changes
The SEC has announced nearly $4 million in whistleblower awards this week, though changes to agency’s tipster program set to be discussed Wednesday will once again hit the back burner.
Posted inInternal Controls
Q&A with Kara Brockmeyer: How pandemic has impacted third-party risk
In advance of her keynote at Compliance Week’s upcoming TPRM virtual event (Sept. 17-18), former SEC official Kara Brockmeyer discussed with CW the heightened risk third parties have during a pandemic and what companies can do about it.
Posted inRegulatory Policy
SEC to consider limiting large whistleblower awards, weakening retaliation rule
The SEC had scheduled a Sept. 2 vote on controversial changes to its whistleblower program that, if passed, could weaken the agency’s prohibition of retaliation against whistleblowers and limit large rewards. The meeting has been canceled.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Mass. pharma company will pay $20.75M to settle FCA lawsuit
A Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company will pay $20.75 million settle a whistleblower’s allegations that the company knowingly promoted misleading instructions for a skin lesion drug that caused doctors to submit false claims to Medicare.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Wells Fargo must do more than pay to redeem fake account scandal
Wells Fargo is now operating under a different regime, but what have the billions of dollars the bank has spent in attending to the compliance failures that arose out of its fake account scandal delivered? Not enough, posits Martin Woods.
