All Regulatory Enforcement articles – Page 172
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Blog
U.K. Financial Regulator Sharpening Focus With New Structure
Image: Dec. 10—The Financial Conduct Authority, which took over financial regulation for the United Kingdom in 2013, is undertaking a complete restructuring to better deliver on its objectives, protect consumers and market integrity, and promote competition. The agency announced that certain divisions will be consolidated with new ones created for ...
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Study: Many Businesses Struggle With Anti-Corruption Controls
Image: Dec. 10—Three years after the U.K. Bribery Act came into force, many businesses are still struggling to implement the procedures necessary to prevent corruption as expected by the Ministry of Justice. More than one-third of almost 3,000 anti-corruption controls assessed by GoodCorporation were graded as inadequate in a recent ...
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Madoff's Secretary Gets Lighter Sentence Due to Her 'Unusually Small Stature'
"Madoff secretary gets 6 years after judge cites ‘small stature’" When I came across the headline above in yesterday's New York Post, I thought that while "small stature" was an odd way to characterize the role of Madoff's secretary in his massive fraud, it did make sense that someone who ...
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'Laws of the Land' Finally Catching Up to Former Satyam CEO, Part II
In July 2014, I noted here that although it had taken over five years, the wheels of justice were finally in motion against B. Ramalinga Raju, former chairman and CEO of Satyam Computer Services, as India's securities regulator had ordered Raju, his brother, and two others to disgorge $307 million. ...
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Brazil’s Anti-Corruption Head Resigns
Brazil’s anti-corruption obstacles continue to escalate, following the resignation this week of the federal government’s head of anti-corruption, amid a corruption probe unfolding against Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras. Hage’s resignation comes as eight engineering and construction companies that held contracts with Petrobras face allegations that they took part in ...
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Google Will Pay $19M to Settle FTC Complaints
The Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order resolving allegations that Google unfairly billed consumers for in-app charges that were made by children without their parents’ consent. Google will set aside $19 million in restitution and contact all all affected consumers within 15 days.
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After Three Years, SFO Obtains First Convictions Under U.K. Bribery Act
It took more than three years, but Britain’s Serious Fraud Office has finally obtained its first convictions under the U.K. Bribery Act. According to the SFO, two men have been found guilty of conspiring to use false e-mail addresses to produce bogus sales invoices, an offense uncovered by an investigation ...
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DoJ Creating Dedicated Cybersecurity Unit Within Criminal Division
Image: Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell has announced that the Justice Department is creating a cyber-security unit within the Criminal Division. Prosecutors will serve as a “central hub for expert advice and legal guidance regarding the criminal electronic surveillance statutes for both U.S. and international law enforcement conducting complex cyber-investigations,” ...
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Article
Why Anti-Money Laundering Programs Aren’t Just for Banks Anymore
Image: After years of hunting money launderers by scrutinizing transaction at big banks, regulators are widening their nets to include luxury goods retailers, casinos, technology companies, and others. The Feds are holding more businesses accountable for questionable transactions and pushing those at risk to beef up AML compliance. “All companies, ...
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Blog
Toyota Motor Credit Probed for Lending Discrimination
The Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last month launched an investigation against Toyota Motor Credit over allegations of auto-lending discrimination practices, Toyota announced in a recent Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the agencies, “such practices resulted in discriminatory pricing of loans ...
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Article
SEC Whistleblower Program’s Latest Threat: Its Success
Corporate compliance officers may have a new reason to be uncomfortable with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program: how well it appears to be working. Tips are flooding into the SEC, including 3,620 in fiscal year 2014 alone. “The SEC has institutionally embraced the whistleblower statute,” says Brian Kenney, ...
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'FIN4' Hackers Target Over 100 Companies Seeking Market-Moving Information
Cyber-security firm FireEye released a report this week on a group of hackers that has targeted e-mail accounts of individuals with access to confidential information at more than 100 companies. The hackers are looking for non-public information about merger and acquisition deals and other major market-moving revelations, particularly in the ...
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2015 SEC Trial Scorecard Update: Agency is Undefeated After Two Trials
Last year's SEC Trial Scorecard for FY 2014 is in the books, so it is time to get started on our FY 2015 SEC Trial Scorecard. The SEC Trial Scorecard tracks the SEC's trials in federal court, along with the outcome. To date in FY 2014 (which began on ...
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Final SEC Trial Scorecard for FY 2014: SEC Posts 5-7-5 Record in 17 Trials
In March 2014, I began tracking the SEC's federal court trials in FY 2014 (which began on October 1, 2013), and the results in each case. The SEC's final trial scorecard in FY 2014 included a total of 17 trials. Of those 17 trials, SEC had five outright victories in ...
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U.K. Regulators Fine RBS, Two Others £56M for IT Lapses
Image: Title: McDermottNov. 25—Financial regulators in Britain fined Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank, and Ulster Bank a combined £56 million last week for IT failings in the summer of 2012 that left customers without full access to ATMs, online payments, and other banking services. The joint enforcement action ...
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HSBC Private Bank Pays $12.5 Million for Providing Unregistered Services to U.S. Clients
HSBC’s Swiss-based private banking arm agreed today to pay $12.5 million to Securities and Exchange Commission for violating federal securities laws by failing to register with the SEC before providing cross-border brokerage and investment advisory services to U.S. clients. “HSBC Private Bank’s efforts to prevent registration violations ultimately failed, because ...
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FINRA Fines Citigroup $15 Million for Supervisory Failures
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Citigroup Global Markets $15 million last week for failing to adequately supervise communications between its equity research analysts and its clients and Citigroup sales and trading staff. In settling this matter, Citigroup neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of ...
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Article
Antitrust Division to Increase Use of Probation in Enforcement
Image: Title: SnyderThe Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has signaled a shift in its enforcement approach concerning companies that violate antitrust laws and don’t have effective compliance programs. During two recent speeches, Antitrust officials said they would seek court-supervised probation in such cases. “Conversely, companies that can demonstrate ...
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The SEC's Role in the War of 1812
Today on TheRacetotheBottom blog, Prof. J. Robert Brown Jr. of the University of Denver Law School took a playful poke at the Association of American Law Schools for its recent announcement (still on its website here) that SEC Chair Mary Jo White will be the inaugural speaker for its Showcase ...
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Justice Department Nets Record $5.7 Billion From False Claims Cases
Image: Title: DeleryThe Department of Justice obtained a record $5.7 billion in recoveries from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in fiscal year 2014, thanks mainly to massive settlements reached in the financial services and healthcare industries. “In the past three years, we have achieved the ...