News | Compliance Week – Page 50
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News BriefShort seller accuses Freedom Holding Corp. of ‘brazen’ sanctions evasion
Freedom Holding Corp. was accused of “brazen sanctions evasion,” along with openly flouting anti-money laundering and know your customer regulations, as part of an investigative report published by short seller Hindenburg Research.
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News BriefFinCEN alerts banks to payroll tax, workers’ compensation schemes
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a notice to financial institutions regarding its observations of increasing payroll tax evasion and workers’ compensation fraud taking place in the U.S. residential and commercial real estate construction industries.
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News BriefDisney, still without CCO, brings back former exec as deputy CCO
Rafael Ribeiro, Disney’s former assistant general counsel of global ethics and compliance, returned to the media giant in July as associate general counsel and deputy chief compliance officer.
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News Brief
UBS to pay $1.4B over financial crisis-era fraud
UBS and several of its U.S. affiliates agreed to pay $1.44 billion as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice regarding the underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis.
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News BriefSkyCity Entertainment reserves $29M for pending AML/CFT fine
Australian gaming company SkyCity Entertainment Group disclosed it reserved AUS$45 million (U.S. $29 million) for a potential settlement resolving alleged violations of the country’s anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism law.
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News BriefSEC fines Crowe U.K. $750K over deficient Akazoo audit
The U.K. arm of audit firm Crowe agreed to pay $750,000 as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged professional care and skepticism failures regarding its 2018 audit of music streaming subscription company Akazoo.
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News BriefPCAOB fines three in latest reporting requirement sweep
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board continued its crackdown on reporting requirement violations with penalties against three audit firms, including a BDO affiliate.
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News BriefBittrex, foreign affiliate to pay $24M over unregistered sale of securities
The Securities and Exchange Commission ordered cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex and its foreign affiliate Bittrex Global to pay $24 million for running an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
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News BriefGrupo Aval to pay $81M in landmark FCPA case
Colombian conglomerate Grupo Aval agreed to pay nearly $81 million as part of settlements addressing alleged bribes paid by its bank subsidiary Corficolombiana to win a highway construction contract.
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News BriefOFAC doubles down on sanctions against Belarusian regime
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced expanded sanctions against the Belarusian regime three years after the country’s disputed 2020 presidential election.
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News BriefCCPA first state privacy law deemed adequate by Dubai financial hub
The Dubai International Financial Centre announced the California Consumer Privacy Act passes muster, allowing compliant California businesses to be the first permitted to transfer data with the DIFC without additional contractual measures.
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News BriefRobinhood discloses New York AG probe into brokerage execution
Online brokerage Robinhood Markets disclosed in a quarterly filing it is under investigation regarding the quality of its brokerage execution.
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News BriefN.Y. cyber strategy puts pressure on banks, energy sector
New York will closely monitor the cybersecurity protections in place at institutions in the financial and energy sectors as part of its first statewide cybersecurity strategy.
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News BriefPCAOB fines K G Somani over audit quality lapses
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced a $125,000 penalty against India-based audit firm K G Somani & Co. for alleged violations of quality control standards.
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News BriefCanoo to pay $1.5M over misstatements, disclosure lapses
Electric vehicle manufacturer Canoo agreed to pay $1.5 million as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged material misrepresentations regarding revenue and failing to properly disclose executive compensation.
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News BriefFund administrator Theorem to pay $122K over missed red flags
The Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Florida-based fund administrator Theorem Fund Services to pay more than $122,000 to settle allegations it missed red flags regarding a $39 million fraud.
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News BriefWells Fargo fined $200M in latest SEC, CFTC off-channel comms sweep
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission continued their crackdown on financial firms’ recordkeeping failures regarding employee use of off-channel communications with $555 million in total fines levied against nine institutions and their affiliates.
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News BriefEx-DOJ Criminal Division head Kenneth Polite to join Sidley Austin
Sidley Austin announced the appointment of Kenneth Polite Jr., former head of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as a partner and co-lead of the law firm’s white-collar government litigation and investigations practice.
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News BriefSEC awards $104M between seven whistleblowers in one action
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced awards totaling more than $104 million to seven whistleblowers whose information and assistance led to a successful enforcement action.
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News BriefFed report highlights emerging cyber threats, including generative AI
The Federal Reserve listed the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence tools among areas of emerging cybersecurity threats for banks to monitor as part of its annual resilience report.