In response to President Trump's February 10, 2025, Executive Order pausing DOJ FCPA enforcement (the "Executive Order"), on June 9, 2025, the DOJ issued new guidelines (the "Guidelines"), which prioritize the enforcement of...more
6/18/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
A 2024 CFTC enforcement action settlement that may have introduced a new test for when the Commodity Exchange Act and the agency's regulations apply on a cross-border basis concerned then-CFTC Commissioner and now Acting CFTC...more
6/2/2025
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interpretive Letters ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Jurisdiction ,
Market Participants ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Settlement
On May 12, 2025, the Department of Justice Criminal Division announced significant changes to its corporate white-collar criminal enforcement priorities. In line with the Trump administration’s recalibration toward...more
On April 17, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's ("CFTC") operating divisions ("Divisions") provided guidance in an advisory on the criteria they will use when determining whether to refer self-reported...more
In a break from the typical acting agency chairman, Acting Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") Chairman Caroline Pham has taken several significant actions, signaled several more, and set the agency on a path to...more
3/26/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CFTC ,
Comment Period ,
Commodities ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's ("CFTC") new enforcement advisory introduces several major changes in policy and a matrix helping those facing potential or actual CFTC investigations quantify the extent to which...more
On February 10, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") for 180 days and ordering Attorney General...more
The ruling that the SEC acted arbitrarily in denying Coinbase's crypto rulemaking petition, issued in the waning days of the Gensler-era SEC, invites swift action under an Atkins-led SEC....more
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a 2022 jury verdict for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") against EOX Holdings LLC and a former broker, Andrew Gizienski, holding...more
In Short -
The Situation: The civil action of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") against Archegos Capital Management LP and its CFO is but one of many civil and criminal matters arising out of Archegos's...more
9/28/2023
/ CFTC ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Markets ,
Fraud ,
Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Security-Based Swaps
Each year, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") dedicate substantial resources to investigating and...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement has yet to rebound from the immediate pre-pandemic period. In 2022, DOJ and SEC resolved eight corporate FCPA matters for $878 million, including four resolutions coordinated...more
3/3/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In Short -
The Situation: Decentralized finance ("DeFi") is a rapidly growing sector that, by definition, eschews centralized financial institutions altogether. Misconduct that has accompanied that growth has drawn the...more
The Biden administration took office in January 2021, announcing aggressive and sweeping anticorruption initiatives to tackle corruption around the world, labeling corruption a national security priority, and signaling a...more
1/28/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Introduction In the first 10 months of the Biden administration, senior DOJ officials have signaled a renewed focus on corporate criminal and civil enforcement against companies and individuals. ...more
On October 18, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James directed two virtual currency lending platforms to immediately cease their unregistered and allegedly unlawful activities in New York and sent letters to three...more
10/29/2021
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
New York ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Transactions ,
Stablecoins ,
State Attorneys General ,
Virtual Currency
As the global digital asset industry continues to grow, regulators worldwide have increased efforts to define and shape the legal landscape through various approaches. In the UAE, for example, the Financial Services...more
10/25/2021
/ Africa ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ether ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Middle East ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Token Sales ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Established in 1974 in Washington, D.C., the CFTC was originally responsible for overseeing and regulating the commodity futures and options markets in the United States. Initially, its primary focus was to regulate trading...more
9/16/2021
/ Brazil ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Futures ,
Latin America ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Swaps
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has left little doubt that his commission will closely monitor activity in the cryptoasset markets and the actions of decentralized finance, or DeFi platforms, as investor interest continues to grow....more
CFTC Commissioner asserts that Decentralized Finance ("DeFi") likely violates the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA") and that the regulator should respond accordingly.
DeFi is an umbrella term encompassing a range of...more
In an effort to pursue unlawful trading in the derivatives markets, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") and U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") have in recent years engaged in unprecedented levels of...more
4/29/2021
/ Analytics ,
CFTC ,
Civil Liability ,
Commodities ,
Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
Market Manipulation ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Spoofing
The Situation: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations ("EXAMS") released a Risk Alert on March 29, 2021, reminding broker-dealers of their obligation to comply with anti-money laundering ("AML")...more