Standard Chartered fined $24.9M for Ukraine sanctions breaches
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation hit Standard Chartered Bank for a record fine relating to loans the bank made to Russian financial institutions in violation of the EU’s sanction regime.
EPA scaling back enforcement amid coronavirus
The Environmental Protection Agency said it doesn’t expect to seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations during a temporary policy issued amid the coronavirus pandemic.
DOJ indicts Venezuela President Maduro, others in regime
The DOJ unsealed indictments against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and several high-ranking former and current members of his regime for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering crimes, as well as violations of the FCPA.
DOJ begins enforcement crackdown on coronavirus fraud
The Department of Justice has acted swiftly on its vow to crack down on fraud during the coronavirus pandemic, issuing its first related enforcement action against a Website acting as an alleged wire-fraud scheme.
TRACE: Bribery enforcement down in 2019
Risks in the extractives and aerospace industries are still prevalent, but the number of overall global and U.S. enforcement cases involving bribery dropped in 2019, according to the latest report from TRACE International.
Swedish regulator fines Swedbank record $390M for AML deficiencies
Swedbank AB has been issued a record 4 billion Swedish Krona (U.S. $390 million) administrative fine for what Sweden’s financial watchdog called “serious deficiencies in its management of the risk of money laundering in its Baltic operations.”
Webcast: Can KYC compliance and customer experience coexist?
Remaining competitive in the modern financial world requires staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated financial crimes and fluid regulations across multiple jurisdictions.
Swedish watchdog fines Google $7.6M for GDPR non-compliance
Google has received its second fine to date for violating Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation; Sweden’s Data Protection Authority fined the internet giant 75 million Swedish Kroner (U.S. $7.6 million).
Webcast: Regulatory update for financial services
FINRA’s Exam Priorities, Regulation BI, and the SEC’s Cybersecurity Guidance
10 tips to meet government expectations of remediation programs
A DOJ-appointed independent compliance monitor has some important advice for companies in trouble that may mean not just remediation credit, but more importantly reputation restoration and the avoidance of larger problems down the line.
CFPB lawsuit against Fifth Third mirrors Wells Fargo allegations
Fifth Third Bank, National Association could potentially be in as much legal and regulatory trouble as Wells Fargo if allegations of unauthorized account opening brought by the CFPB hold true.
Former U.S. Bank risk officer pays $450K for AML compliance failures
The former chief operational risk officer at U.S. Bank has agreed to pay a $450,000 penalty for his role in the bank failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering compliance program.
Alstom exec's acquittal calls FCPA jurisdiction into question
A federal court in Connecticut acquitted a former Alstom employee on FCPA charges following a Second Circuit decision. But the story does not end there.
U.K.’s ICO fines Cathay Pacific for pre-GDPR breach
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office has fined airline Cathay Pacific £500,000 (U.S. $643,000) for failing to protect the personal data of millions of customers.
DOJ intervenes in whistleblower suit against Mallinckrodt
The Department of Justice has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Mallinckrodt over allegations the drug maker knowingly underpaid Medicaid rebates it owed due to significant price increases to its drug Acthar.
Newell Brands facing SEC subpoena over sales, accounting practices
Newell Brands disclosed in a regulatory filing it is facing a Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena over its sales and accounting practices, particularly related to the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets.
CFPB’s leadership structure, SEC’s authority on SCOTUS docket this week
The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week in cases that question whether the current structure of the CFPB is constitutional, and whether to curb the SEC’s power to return funds to fleeced investors.
Accountant pleads guilty in DOJ Panama Papers probe
A U.S-based accountant who was charged alongside three others for their alleged roles in a decades-long criminal scheme perpetrated by Panama-headquartered law firm Mossack Fonseca and related entities has pleaded guilty.
Compliance lessons from Cardinal Health’s FCPA settlement
Cardinal Health reached an $8.8 million settlement with the SEC for violations of the FCPA concerning the operations of its former Chinese subsidiary. For prudent compliance officers, it’s a tale of how not to do business in China.
FCC proposes fines against T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint
The FCC proposed fines against the four largest wireless carriers in the United States for allegedly selling access to their customers’ location information without taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access.
Six compliance lessons from Wells Fargo’s really bad week
Two more settlements reached by Wells Fargo with regulators in the span of a week impart yet more “what not to do” ethics and compliance lessons.
SEC rips Wells Fargo’s ETF compliance efforts in $35M settlement
Already reeling from last week’s $3 billion penalty related to its fake accounts scandal, Wells Fargo took another hit Thursday in the form of a $35 million SEC settlement related to poor supervision of investment recommendation practices.
SEC settles with RSM over improper conduct
The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges with RSM for “improper professional conduct” after the firm assigned unqualified staff to audit a series of private investment funds.
Under Siege: Actor Steven Seagal dinged by SEC for touting ICO
Steven Seagal agreed to a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose payments he received for promoting an initial coin offering in 2018 conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen.
SITA settles nearly 10K alleged OFAC sanctions violations for $7.8M
Société Internationale de Télécommunications has agreed to pay approximately $7.8 million to settle 9,256 apparent sanctions violations with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
SEC subpoenas Mattel in accounting probe
Mattel announced it has received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking documents related to a previously disclosed investigation that had uncovered accounting errors.
Regulatory events coming this spring
Check out information on upcoming events from such regulators as the SEC, FINRA, CFPB, and more.
Webcast: CCPA state of the compliance industry and requirements
The rules are still not entirely clear on CCPA. However, it’s currently law in California and enforcement begins on July 1, 2020.
What’s next for Wells Fargo? Bank, execs still in crosshairs
Wells Fargo will pay $3 billion to resolve civil and criminal penalties with the DOJ and SEC related to its long-running fake accounts scandal, but the embattled bank—and its former executives—are far from out of the woods.
Wells Fargo to pay $3B to resolve fake account scandal
The Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday assessed total civil and criminal penalties of $3 billion against Wells Fargo & Co. and its subsidiary, Wells Fargo Bank, in the aftermath of its fake account scandal.
Compliance lessons from Julius Baer’s ‘serious AML failings’
Compliance officers can learn a lot from the anti-money laundering compliance shortcomings at Julius Baer Group, as well as from what the bank is now doing to enhance its risk management and AML compliance controls.
Diageo to pay $5M for disclosure failures
Alcohol producer Diageo has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve charges brought against it by the SEC for disclosure failures, due to weaknesses in its internal disclosure processes.
Former Alstom, Marubeni execs face FCPA charges in bribery scheme
The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against three more individuals for their role in a multi-year, multi-million-dollar foreign bribery scheme and related money-laundering scheme in Indonesia.
Treasury sanctions Rosneft subsidiary for Venezuelan ties
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned a subsidiary of Russian state-run oil company Rosneft for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy.
CCOs face SEC charges over conflicts of interest
Two chief compliance officers—one former, one current—are facing charges from the SEC as part of a lawsuit filed against a California-based investment advisory firm over failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest.
Antitrust Division remarks on changes to model corporate plea agreement
The DOJ’s Antitrust Division last year quietly updated language contained in its “Model Annotated Corporate Plea Agreement,” as it applies to cooperation. Recent remarks provide more color around those changes.
Tesla: One SEC investigation ends; another begins
Electric car maker Tesla announced in a regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission has closed a previously announced investigation while also launching another, this time into Tesla’s financing arrangements.
Ireland raid over privacy concerns jilts Facebook Dating
Facebook wants to play Cupid in Europe, but the Irish Data Protection Commission got its arrow in the tech giant first.
DOJ indictment alleges Huawei fraud, trade secrets theft
The Department of Justice unveiled a fresh round of allegations against Chinese tech giant Huawei, including racketeering, theft of trade secrets, and bank fraud.
Google begins argument to try to overturn $9B in EU fines
Attorneys for Google, seeking to overturn $9 billion in EU antitrust fines, argued in a European court Wednesday that the tech giant should not be forced to prop up its competitors in the course of promoting facets of its own business.
Airbus contractors feeling ripple effect from record fine
Airbus is free to go about its business after paying a record fine to three anti-corruption agencies for widespread bribery, but the trouble is only beginning for some of its implicated contractors.
SEC names Chicago associate regional director
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Paul Montoya has been named associate regional director for enforcement in the Chicago Regional Office.
FTC turns up antitrust heat on Big Tech
The FTC will require the top five U.S. technology firms—Alphabet Inc. (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft—to provide information on acquisitions not previously reported to the agency dating back 10 years.
PCAOB, CFPB big losers in Trump’s proposed budget
President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2021 effectively calls for an end to the PCAOB beginning in 2022, while the CFPB would be subject to major funding cuts as soon as next year.
CFPB hands out $1 penalties in proposed settlement
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks to impose seven civil money penalties at $1 each as part of a proposed settlement with former payday lender Think Finance.
Report: DOJ zeroes in on Google’s ad brokerage business
The DOJ’s scrutiny of Google’s online ad business reflects growing concerns over the tech giant’s potentially anticompetitive behavior, prompts the reclusion of an antitrust enforcement official from the probe, and points to closer coordination between federal and state authorities.
Practice Fusion to overhaul compliance after $145M kickback resolution
Practice Fusion will pay a total of $145 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations for its leading role in an opioid kickback scheme. Particularly notable are the new compliance obligations imposed upon it, which are as weighty and significant as the fine itself.
Trump’s efforts to weaken FCPA bad news for compliance
If President Trump gets his way and the FCPA loses its bite, compliance officers would lose a valuable instrument in their fight to keep businesses on the right side of an ever-blurring line between right and wrong.
Germany’s dual approach to data regulation under the GDPR
Germany is staying ahead of the game with an advanced crackdown on data privacy and competition law violations.
Boeing discloses SEC probe; toxic culture raises flags
Embattled aerospace giant Boeing is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, in addition to already facing scrutiny from the Department of Justice, following two plane crashes that happened less than five months apart.