UBS Financial Services was slapped with a record $125 million joint civil penalty by four regulatory agencies for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, including a failure to implement and maintain an anti-money laundering compliance program and failure to file suspicious activity reports.
SEC
Posted inFinancial Services
In enforcement action against broker-dealer, SEC deems monthly compliance check with net capital rule not good enough
Texas broker-dealer Hext Capital Partners and its owner and chief executive officer, Gregory Hext, have agreed to pay $60,000 to settle allegations that the firm violated the net capital requirements of the Securities Exchange Act.
Posted inRegulatory Policy
By creating a new AI and exams position, SEC may be ramping up Marketing Rule enforcement
The SEC has created a new position on AI and examinations for broker-dealers and investment advisers. The move should signal to regulated entities that the SEC may begin applying more sophisticated AI tools to scour advertisements made by firms for false or misleading claims
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Merrill Lynch to pay $7.5M for failure to file Suspicious Activity Reports
Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch brokerage unit has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle SEC charges that it failed to file numerous Suspicious Activity Reports between April 2020 and September 2024 due to gaps in its transaction monitoring threshold.
Posted inPharmaceuticals
Former biopharm director heads to prison for insider trading ahead of Novartis purchase
A former director of biopharmaceutical company, Chinook Therapeutics, has been sentenced to prison for insider trading related to the company’s $3.2 billion sale to Novartis in 2023, a fraud detected through data analysis by the SEC.
Posted inCryptocurrency and Digital Assets
The SEC’s crypto taxonomy changes everything. Pending enforcement targets should act now
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance published a 68-page interpretive release in March that, for the first time, defines what is and is not a security in the digital asset space.
Posted inWhistleblowers
Exclusive: Former Docusign executive sues company for whistleblower retaliation
A former Docusign executive alleged in a federal whistleblower lawsuit that the software company constructively discharged her after she blew the whistle on the company’s mishandling of sensitive data for customers, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
Posted inSurveys & Benchmarking
ITM survey: Some organizations pull DEI programs—and some keep them—under feds’ DEI reversal, compliance officers report
Nearly four in 10 compliance teams have made it a priority to review risks related to their traditional DEI efforts and other programs in the face of the Trump administration’s unprecedented broadsides against the programs.
Posted inESG/Social Responsibility
CW National: Peirce confirms SEC climate rule rescission proposal being reviewed
Commissioner Hester Peirce had raised concerns about the rule and views the U.S.’s pullback on ESG regulations as a competitive edge over other countries.
Posted inArtificial Intelligence
U.K. joins global trend for AI-enabled regulatory supervision
The U.K. financial regulator is expanding its remit and planning to deploy AI to manage its increased workload. This is part of a global trend and has significant compliance implications.
