Regulatory Enforcement


Silicon Valley Bank

Bipartisan bill would empower FDIC to pursue failed bank exec clawbacks

2023-03-30T14:42:00+01:00By

The Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act seeks to require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to claw back five years’ worth of compensation from executives who lead failed banks.

William_Hill_Web

William Hill fined record $23.7M for social responsibility, AML failures

2023-03-29T18:13:00+01:00By

The U.K. Gambling Commission announced three units of British bookmaking service William Hill Group will pay a record fine of £19.2 million (U.S. $23.7 million) for failures regarding social responsibility and anti-money laundering.

SEC building

Vale to pay $55.9M in SEC settlement over dam disclosures

2023-03-29T17:02:00+01:00By

Brazilian mining company Vale agreed to pay $55.9 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges it issued false and misleading statements regarding the safety conditions of its dams.

DOJ building

Labcorp to pay $2.1M in third party overbilling case

2023-03-28T18:43:00+01:00By

Laboratory Corporation of America agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle Department of Justice allegations the company overbilled the Department of Defense for genetic tests performed by a third party.

AuditAdvice

Friedman latest fined in PCAOB crackdown on unregistered auditor use

2023-03-28T13:19:00+01:00By

Friedman agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty to settle charges by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board it over-relied on the work of unregistered Chinese firms across 12 public company audits.

Binance

Ex-Binance CCO accused of aiding and abetting CFTC rule violations

2023-03-27T21:26:00+01:00By

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged Binance and its founder with operating an illegal digital assets exchange, while former Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim faces charges of aiding and abetting the alleged misconduct.

DOJSeal

Ex-OneCoin compliance head charged over alleged fraud role

2023-03-27T18:59:00+01:00By

The former head of legal and compliance at OneCoin was indicted on separate charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering for her role in the $4 billion cryptocurrency fraud scheme.

CW2022 Kenneth Polite 2

Polite: Look to ABB case for ‘extraordinary cooperation’ example

2023-03-23T20:20:00+00:00By

Compliance officers seeking clarity on what the Department of Justice means by “extraordinary” cooperation or “immediate” self-disclosure should look to the agency’s case history, said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. during a speech.

Coinbase

Coinbase facing SEC enforcement over potential securities violations

2023-03-23T18:08:00+00:00By

Coinbase said it was served a Wells Notice by the Securities and Exchange Commission for potential violations of securities law regarding multiple of its cryptocurrency products.

PCAOB

PCAOB appoints Robert Rice new director of enforcement division

2023-03-22T17:50:00+00:00By CW Staff

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced Robert Rice would succeed Mark Adler as head of enforcement and investigations.

Joe Biden

Biden calls for banking exec clawbacks amid failures

2023-03-20T19:23:00+00:00By

President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to “do more to hold senior bank executives accountable” since the market turmoil that has followed the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

Credit Suisse

‘Crisis of confidence’ leads Credit Suisse to merger with UBS

2023-03-20T18:14:00+00:00By

Credit Suisse will merge with UBS in a move approved by Swiss banking regulators after a proposed cash injection from the Swiss National Bank failed to stabilize Credit Suisse’s rapidly declining finances.

Sterling Bank

Sterling Bank spared fine, to pay $27.2M in restitution under DOJ plea deal

2023-03-16T20:21:00+00:00By

Sterling Bancorp pleaded guilty to falsifying securities statements prior to and following a 2017 initial public offering and will pay approximately $27.2 million in restitution, the Department of Justice announced.

Wells Fargo sign

Ex-Wells Fargo exec fined $17M for role in fake accounts scandal

2023-03-16T15:36:00+00:00By

Carrie Tolstedt, the former head of Wells Fargo’s community bank, will pay a $17 million fine issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for her role in the bank’s fake accounts scandal.

Bribery

​TRACE enforcement report highlights anti-bribery trends from 2022

2023-03-16T15:11:00+00:00By

The United States broke from a three-year downturn in bribery-related enforcement actions, while Brazil continued its emergence in the space, according to the results of the latest annual Global Enforcement Report by nonprofit TRACE.

DOJ wall

Experts: DOJ clawback pilot to be ‘work in progress’

2023-03-16T13:58:00+00:00By

Businesses and compliance professionals should expect the Department of Justice’s new compensation clawback policies to be applied on a case-by-case basis, with broad discretion, according to legal experts.

DOJ building

​Web hosting company fined in DOJ cyber fraud case

2023-03-15T15:38:00+00:00By

Web hosting company Jelly Bean Communications Design and its manager agreed to pay $293,771 in the latest Department of Justice case holding government contractors accountable for poor cybersecurity practices.

DXC Technology

DXC Technology fined $8M over non-GAAP disclosures

2023-03-15T13:57:00+00:00By

IT services provider DXC Technology Company agreed to pay an $8 million penalty to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges it made material misstatements regarding its non-GAAP disclosures over a two-year period.

Rite Aid

DOJ intervenes in suit alleging Rite Aid helped fuel opioid crisis

2023-03-14T20:53:00+00:00By

The Department of Justice announced its intervention in a lawsuit alleging retail pharmacy chain Rite Aid filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for medically unnecessary oxycodone and other opioids in violation of multiple federal laws.

SEC office

Investment adviser fined $50K for compliance lapses following founder/CCO’s death

2023-03-14T20:22:00+00:00By

E. Magnus Oppenheim & Co. must pay $50,000 and hire an independent compliance consultant to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges of failing to implement compliance policies and procedures following the death of its founder and CCO.

SECBooks

Evoqua Water Technologies to pay $8.5M for alleged revenue inflation

2023-03-14T16:38:00+00:00By

Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. agreed to pay $8.5 million to resolve charges the actions of a former company finance director led the firm to misstate its revenue in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Swedbank_Automat

Swedbank reserves $3.7M for OFAC settlement

2023-03-13T19:27:00+00:00By

Swedbank said it expects to pay 40 million Swedish krona (U.S. $3.7 million) as part of a settlement with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control related to apparent sanctions violations.

Coal mining

DOJ declines to prosecute Corsa Coal in FCPA case

2023-03-13T13:40:00+00:00By

Corsa Coal Corp. was notified by the Department of Justice it won’t face prosecution for alleged bribes employees paid to Egypt’s Al Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals to secure coal supply contracts.

DOJ building

Ex-Goldman banker sentenced to 10 years for 1MDB fraud role

2023-03-10T20:40:00+00:00By

Former Goldman Sachs Managing Director Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the 1MDB fraud scandal.

Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank closed by banking regs after historic collapse

2023-03-10T20:22:00+00:00By

In the largest U.S. bank failure since 2008, Silicon Valley Bank was closed and its approximately $175 billion in deposits placed under control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Blackbaud

SEC orders Blackbaud to pay $3M for misleading ransomware disclosures

2023-03-10T19:32:00+00:00By

Software company Blackbaud agreed to pay $3 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle claims it violated securities law by failing to disclose the true scope of a ransomware attack that affected 13,000 users.

DOJSeal

Five more board members resign in DOJ antitrust sweep

2023-03-09T21:13:00+00:00By

Five corporate board members resigned after being flagged by the Department of Justice for potentially violating the antitrust provisions of the Clayton Act.

Webull Financial

Webull fined $3M for failing to properly supervise automated trading system

2023-03-09T17:57:00+00:00By

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined broker-dealer Webull Financial $3 million for alleged failures related to customer due diligence and processing and reporting of customer complaints.

CFTC building

Energy broker Coquest fined by CFTC in block trade manipulation case

2023-03-09T17:43:00+00:00By

Energy broker Coquest, its owners, and trading affiliates agreed to pay a total of nearly $3 million to resolve allegations from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the firm failed in its oversight responsibilities regarding more than 2,000 trades made against its customers.

Brasseur_opinion

Ten things I’m excited for at CW National 2023

2023-03-09T13:00:00+00:00By

Ten weeks before Compliance Week National 2023 kicks off May 15 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C, CW Editor in Chief Kyle Brasseur shares what he’s looking forward to most at the annual event.

PwC sign

PwC fined $6.6M over Babcock International, Devonport audit breaches

2023-03-08T17:17:00+00:00By

The U.K. Financial Reporting Council fined Big Four firm PwC more than £5.6 million (U.S. $6.6 million) for failing to challenge management, obtain sufficient evidence, and follow basic requirements while conducting audits of a British defense contractor and its subsidiary.

Virgin Media

U.K. push for GDPR reprimand transparency draws mixed reviews

2023-03-08T13:00:00+00:00By

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office began publishing the details of cases where organizations breached the General Data Protection Regulation but were not fined. Legal experts share their take on the initiative.

flutter_Web

Flutter Entertainment to pay $4M for legacy FCPA violations

2023-03-07T20:02:00+00:00By

Ireland-based gaming and sports betting company Flutter Entertainment will pay a $4 million fine to resolve SEC charges payments made to Russian consultants by a company it acquired violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

rio_tinto_web

SEC orders Rio Tinto to pay $15M over FCPA violations

2023-03-07T19:21:00+00:00By

U.K.-based mining and minerals company Rio Tinto will pay a $15 million fine to settle charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it entered into a scheme with a consultant in 2011 to bribe government officials in Guinea.

SEC building

SEC fines broker-dealer $100K over SARs reporting failures

2023-03-06T20:16:00+00:00By

Cambria Capital agreed to pay $100,000, hire an independent anti-money laundering consultant, and be censured for failing to file suspicious activity reports on certain transactions over a two-year period, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ericsson

Ericsson to pay $207M for breaches of 2019 DPA over FCPA violations

2023-03-03T19:53:00+00:00By

Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson agreed to pay nearly $207 million following two breaches of its 2019 deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. authorities.

DOJ building

DOJ sets new compliance criteria for criminal investigations

2023-03-03T19:43:00+00:00By

The Department of Justice announced changes to its evaluation procedures for corporate compliance programs in criminal investigations, including monitoring off-channel messaging by employees, executive compensation programs, and how the agency selects compliance monitors.

DOJ

DOJ to implement new clawback, compensation policies for corporate settlements

2023-03-02T22:08:00+00:00By

Corporate resolutions involving the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division will now include a requirement the resolving company develop compliance-promoting criteria within its compensation and bonus system, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

FTC building

FTC proposes BetterHelp pay $7.8M for sharing health data

2023-03-02T21:17:00+00:00By

The Federal Trade Commission proposed requiring online counseling service BetterHelp to pay $7.8 million as part of a settlement addressing charges it shared clients’ personal health data with Facebook, Snapchat, and other third parties for advertising purposes.

North Korea sanctions

Godfrey Phillips India to pay $333K in North Korea sanctions case

2023-03-02T20:34:00+00:00By

Tobacco company Godfrey Phillips India agreed to pay $332,500 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control to settle charges it violated U.S. sanctions by involving U.S. banks and bank personnel in payments for shipments to North Korea.

SEC

Greenbrier Companies fined by SEC over CEO perk disclosures

2023-03-02T20:00:00+00:00By

Greenbrier Companies and its former chief executive officer will pay a total of $1.1 million to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission the firm failed to disclose perks related to the use of a private jet owned by the CEO.

Energy company

Italian DPA fines Edison Energia $5.2M over GDPR lapses

2023-03-02T17:51:00+00:00By

The Italian data protection authority penalized electric utility company Edison Energia for multiple alleged violations of the General Data Protection Regulation regarding marketing communications and data processing transparency.

Brasseur_opinion

Legacy of CCPA: A blueprint for prioritizing compliance

2023-03-02T14:00:00+00:00By

Three years in, the promise of the California Consumer Privacy Act as a means of handing down eye-watering penalties against companies for data protection violations remains unfulfilled. And yet, the expanding U.S. data privacy legislation landscape is better for this.

Western District of New York

Ex-CCO gets three years in prison for wire fraud

2023-03-01T21:57:00+00:00By

A former chief compliance officer of an unnamed New York-based investment adviser was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding clients and her employer.

Auditinspection

Marcum partner accused of PCAOB standard violations at FTE Networks

2023-03-01T18:46:00+00:00By

Marcum partner Alan Markowitz was accused of violating standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board when he took a client’s false representations at face value during an audit without seeking more information.

Credit Suisse

FINMA: Credit Suisse ‘seriously breached’ duty regarding Greensill

2023-03-01T17:26:00+00:00By

Poor risk management by Credit Suisse’s asset management company kept the bank mostly unaware of the risky nature of lending procedures used by Lex Greensill that would lead to the collapse of Greensill Capital, according to Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

CFTC names new head of enforcement

2023-03-01T15:23:00+00:00By CW Staff

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the appointment of longtime federal prosecutor Ian McGinley as the agency’s new director of enforcement.

California

California ‘setting the tone’ for privacy push with CPRA updates

2023-03-01T14:00:00+00:00By

Changes to the California Consumer Privacy Act set to come over the course of 2023 strengthen the nation’s first comprehensive state privacy law to a benchmark no other states have yet to equal.

HHS building

HHS creates new enforcement office for health privacy

2023-02-28T20:20:00+00:00By

The Department of Health and Human Services and its office responsible for enforcing health privacy reorganized so it can sharpen enforcement of cybersecurity and data breaches.

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SEC commissioners question best execution ruling in Huntleigh Advisors case

2023-02-28T17:48:00+00:00By

Huntleigh Advisors and affiliate Datatex Investment Services agreed to pay $893,502 to settle charges laid by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding failure to disclose conflicts of interest to their advisory clients over eight years.