A recent settlement forestalling criminal prosecution over allegations of market timing by a subsidiary of Prudential Financial has introduced a new twist to enforcement actions: placing responsibility for monitoring compliance with the settlement directly on the shoulders of the company’s general counsel.
Typically, the Department of Justice insists that in return for entering into a deferred-prosecution or non-prosecution agreement, the company must retain an outside monitor. But the settlement with Prudential, concluded in late August but publicly disclosed late last month, gives General Counsel Susan Blount personal responsibility to oversee the compliance function.
