CCO liability: How to protect your compliance career
By 
Amii Barnard-Bahn2024-05-01T14:00:00
It’s largely impossible to effectively assess an organization’s culture of compliance prior to taking a chief compliance officer job. And yet, regulators’ growing interest in holding CCOs responsible for company misconduct has understandably raised anxiety for would-be compliance chiefs.
They might be asking themselves questions like:
- What if liability is imposed when compliance acts negligently, rather than recklessly?
- What happens when compliance relies on inaccurate data from another employee?
- Are compliance officers still liable if they haven’t participated in the violations caused by the company or other executives?
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
PremiumPreparation key for ‘tectonic change’ from FTC noncompete ban
Companies would be wise to prepare to comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s rule to ban noncompete clauses, despite legal challenges that might delay or prevent it taking effect altogether.
-
PremiumCFTC’s Pham: ‘There will likely be more’ CCOs charged with individual liability
Caroline Pham of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said she expects the regulator to pursue more individual liability cases against chief compliance officers, in the aftermath of landmark charges laid against the former CCO at Binance.
-
PremiumSEC’s Grewal: Being a compliance officer not a ‘get-out-of-jail’ card
Gurbir Grewal, head of the Enforcement Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission, outlined the scenarios in which the agency would charge a chief compliance officer for securities law violations.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
ArticleFalse Claims Act enforcement themes for 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice touted a record $6.8 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in fiscal year 2025, much of that total stems from prior years’ cases and does not necessarily reflect the administration’s current enforcement direction.
-
ArticleFederal jury convicts former coal executive in Egypt-linked coal FCPA case
A former vice president of an American coal company was convicted by a federal jury for his part in an international bribery and money laundering scheme. The conviction represents an anomoly in the Trump administration’s handling of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases launched under former President Joe Biden.
-
ArticleU.K. financial regulator cuts cases to focus on investigations that achieve results
The U.K. financial regulator has dropped 100 investigations without action over the past three years, but compliance should expect a refocus of resources rather than a retreat from enforcement.