All Enforcement & Litigation articles
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Article
Along with name change, plans afoot to rethink CFPB enforcement
Throughout the month, a flurry of commenters has weighed in on efforts to potentially reshape the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s enforcement policies.
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Blog
NLRB compliance officer fabricated victims, stole from compensation fund
A former NLRB compliance officer pleaded guilty this week to charges he stole more than $400,000 from an agency fund he oversaw that was intended to distribute funds to employees victimized by labor law violations.
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Blog
Another CCO settles with SEC over negligence of duties
The SEC has announced another settlement with a former CCO over alleged negligence. The settlement, reached on Aug. 15 also offers a caution about retaining third party compliance services.
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Blog
Western Union settlement is a stern warning about AML compliance
If you need further proof of how costly failed AML and BSA compliance can be, writes Joe Mont, look no further than a the $586 million settlement Wester Union was just hit with.
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Blog
DoJ sends clear signal in the LATAM/LAN FCPA enforcement action
A recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case found LATAM Airlines Group shouldering a heavy burden, paying out approximately $22.2 million in penalties. The significant costs, notes Tom Fox, seems to imply the Justice Department’s FCPA Pilot Program is working.
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Blog
On the Death of Cecil the Lion and the FCPA
By now most everyone knows that in July, U.S. citizen and big game hunter Walter Palmer traveled to Zimbabwe and then shot and killed Cecil the Lion, a protected animal. What does that have to do with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act? Quite a lot, columnist Tom Fox notes. This ...
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Article
Advisers Still Feel Unease Over CCO Liability Risk
Image: The conversation about personal liability for compliance officers is buzzing again, thanks to a hornet’s nest SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher stirred up with a complaint about recent sanctions against two CCOs. “We’re hearing similar concerns among CCOs at investment adviser firms—and not just from CCOs, but also from senior ...
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Blog
As BHP Enforcement Shows, the Proof Is in the Doing
Yes, Virginia, you can violate the FCPA even without bribing a foreign government official—just ask BHP Billiton, fined $25 million by the SEC for having a compliance program that looked great on paper, but was never strongly implemented. This week, columnist Tom Fox does a post-mortem on how BHP’s program ...
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Blog
Legislation Seeks Transparency on Tax-Deductible Settlements
A bill filed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) would require transparency on tax deductions that minimize the cost of an enforcement action. Any statement by a federal agency about the value of a settlement would need to explain how much of that agreement is tax deductible ...
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Blog
HSBC Disciplines U.S. Executive Over Compliance Attitude
HSBC has decided to reassign the Americas head of its global banking division because of the manager’s poor attitude about the bank’s compliance and audit program, according to an update from its compliance monitor. The report cited that move as one example of HSBC’s improvement on compliance, while still warning ...
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Article
T&E Controls That Won’t Get You Busted
Image: Title: TillenThe SEC set the compliance community buzzing in December with two FCPA enforcement actions that hinge on improper travel and entertainment spending—an offense historically seldom seen in FCPA enforcement. Usually, “T&E abuses are add-on charges to an enforcement action involving a larger pool of improper activity,” says James ...
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Article
Insider-Trading Risks Get More Complicated
Image: The appellate court decision to overturn insider-trading convictions of two Wall Streeters brings clarity to some aspects of the crime. It does not, however, reduce insider-trading risks. Yes, the ruling narrows the scope of such offenses, but “a compliance officer would have to be out of his mind to ...
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