All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 163
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Article
Export Control Reform Still Lags, Leaving Compliance Programs in Lurch
Image: Anyone involved in international trade might hope that one day, in the long run, export control reform will alleviate the compliance burden companies face now. In the short run, however, expect even more pain as reform ideas inch along. “This is one of the most complex and changing environments ...
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Blog
FinCEN Fines Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino $75 Mill on AML
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this week fined Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, $75 million for “willful and egregious” violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. According to FinCEN, Tinian Dynasty failed to develop and implement policies and procedures designed to ensure anti-money laundering compliance, or to detect suspicious transactions. Details ...
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Blog
SEC 'Invites' ALJ to Submit Affidavit on Pressure to Find for Agency
Yesterday, the SEC issued an unusual order In the Matter of Timbervest LLC et al., an administrative proceeding currently before the agency. The Commission invited the ALJ in the case to file an affidavit addressing the existence of any pressure to rule in favor of the Division of Enforcement in ...
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Blog
SEC Sues Bulgarian Trader for EDGAR-Assisted Avon Stock Scheme
The SEC says it knows who was behind fake tender offers posted to its EDGAR database and is suing the Bulgarian man it claims is responsible. On June 4, the Commission filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against Nedko Nedev and firms he was associated with. He allegedly masterminded ...
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Blog
SEC's Pinterest Page Highlights Achievements of Women SEC Officials
The SEC has found another interesting use for its "Pinterest" page. It recently created a Women's History Month board on the popular social media site to help gather information and photos, and celebrate the achievements of many of the most influential women employees in in its history.
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Blog
Sen. Warren is Triply 'Disappointed' in SEC Chair White
Sen. Elizabeth Warren would like SEC Chair Mary Jo White to know that Sen. Warren is disappointed in her. In a 13-page letter this week, Sen. Warren expressed this very sentiment repeatedly, prompting Chair White and others to defend her leadership of the agency and its accomplishments.
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Blog
Ex-Wells Fargo CEO Slams ‘Absurd’ Compliance Spending
Image: Is the compliance ramp-up at big banks to blame for layoffs, including the 5,000 of them announced last month by JPMorgan? Richard Kovacevich, former CEO of Wells Fargo, seems to think so. “It is absurd that [banks] are investing that kind of money on compliance” he said of growing ...
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Blog
Five Major Banks Agree to Parent-Level Guilty Pleas
Five major banks—Citicorp, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS—last week agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros exchanged in the foreign currency exchange (FX) spot market. The banks also agreed to pay criminal fines totaling more than $2.5 ...
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Blog
Compliance Director Charged With Defrauding Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced fraud charges against a former director of compliance of a registered broker-dealer who was accused of defrauding investors and stealing money from the brokerage firm where he worked. “We allege a classic situation of the fox guarding the henhouse as William Quigley subverted ...
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Blog
Premiering Tonight -- '(Dis)honesty: The Truth About Lies'
A documentary premiering tonight on CNBC includes an in-depth look at the audacious insider trading scheme carried out by trader Garrett Bauer and attorney Matthew Kluger. The film examines how people rationalize and justify behavior, and considers what can be done "to stem an epidemic of cheating."
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Article
The Real State of CCO Legal Liability
A compliance mishap in a company can feel like a professional failure to chief compliance officers; a more urgent question is whether it might also bring professional liability. At Compliance Week 2015, enforcement officials with the SEC and Justice Department, as well as compliance professionals themselves, explored how CCOs can ...
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Blog
Deutsche Bank to Pay $55 Million for Misstating Financial Reports
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay a $55 million penalty to the SEC to resolve charges that it filed misstated financial reports, which failed to take into account a material risk for potential losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars, during the height of the financial crisis. Details ...
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Blog
Podcast: Internal Investigation Lessons From the NFL
Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens attacked his fiancée in an elevator. Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is in a protracted battle over whether he had game balls underinflated. In our latest podcast, we talk to Timothy McConnell, co-chair of the labor & employment practice at law firm Baker Donelson, ...
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Blog
Australian Stock Trader Tries Out 'Costanza Defense' in Sentencing Hearing
Australian stock trader facing sentencing for insider trading channels his inner George Costanza ("Was that wrong? Should I have not done that?")
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Blog
SEC: BHP Billiton Went Too Far on Hospitality
Image: The SEC has settled FCPA charges against BHP Billiton for inviting 176 government officials and employees of state-owned enterprises to attend the 2008 Summer Olympic Games at the company’s expense. Andrew Ceresney, head of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, said the invites occurred “while they were in a position to ...
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Article
Is CSR Part of the Compliance Operation?
Corporate social responsibility is now big business in Europe. How the compliance function intersects with CSR, however—and what role the compliance officer should play in CSR oversight—is still unclear. In the final part of our series on CSR, we look at how several European companies are trying to embed CSR ...
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Blog
Ceresney Breaks Down Recent Results of Busy SEC Litigation Docket
SEC Director of Enforcement Andrew Ceresney recently provided some detailed updates on the work and recent results of the Enforcement Division’s national litigation program. He characterized the litigation docket as “busy,” with approximately 130 litigators in the national trial unit who are currently litigating more than 550 cases. He stated ...
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Blog
The SEC Views on Whistleblowers: Sit Up and Listen
Whistleblowers—protecting them, working with them, not stifling them—continue to be one of the most important parts of the compliance officer’s job. This week, columnist Tom Fox reviews the SEC’s recent pronouncements on how it wants whistleblowers to be treated and how the SEC itself plans to keep encouraging whistleblowers to ...
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Blog
BRG Launches Global Investigations and Strategic Intelligence Practice
Strategic advisory and expert consulting firm Berkeley Research Group has launched a Global Investigations and Strategic Intelligence practice. Allen Applbaum has been appointed as global leader of the practice. Details inside.
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Blog
State Street Anticipating Enforcement Action
State Street disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that it expects to become the subject of an enforcement action brought by the Federal Reserve and the Massachusetts Division of Banks for deficiencies in the bank’s compliance program relating to the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money ...