The Development: On September 16, 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois ("NDIL") announced its six-month Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program for Organizational Misconduct ("Pilot...more
The Background: In August 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC., et al. ("Murray") that an employee suing his employer under the anti-retaliation provisions of...more
2/19/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
Certiorari ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Murray v UBS Securities LLC ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The recently created SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program encourages individuals to self-disclose certain criminal conduct and cooperate in resulting investigations and prosecutions.
...more
2/8/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
New York ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Pilot Programs ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
While there are a number of ways in which organizations may become aware of potential wrongdoing internally, perhaps the most significant for its legal and compliance teams is internal reporting, or “whistleblowing,” by...more
5/15/2023
/ Cross-Border ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employment Rights Act ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The largest-ever award highlights the importance of whistleblowers to the SEC's biggest cases.
On May 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") awarded $279 million to a whistleblower, the agency's largest...more
The proposed amendments to the rules governing the whistleblower program, if adopted, would reverse prior amendments and provide further and significant financial incentives for whistleblowers to report potential violations...more
2/14/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
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
The accelerated pace and size of awards to whistleblowers totaling more than $530 million in SEC Fiscal Year 2021 underscores the commitment to the whistleblower program under new SEC leadership. On September 15, 2021, the...more
On May 19, 2021, the SEC announced an award of more than $28 million to a whistleblower whose tip led the SEC and the DOJ to reach a combined $281 million FCPA settlement with a U.S.-based manufacturer of electronic systems...more
6/23/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
SEC Whistleblower Awards to 40 individuals in 2021 surpass total awards in fiscal year 2020.
On March 29, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced an award of more than $500,000 to a whistleblower who...more
The highest award in the history of the SEC whistleblower program is issued to an employee who repeatedly reported misconduct internally before alerting the SEC.
On October 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
Companies should consider review of their compliance programs and procedures for addressing internal complaints or tips of potential misconduct.
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted...more
9/29/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Reporting ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
New efforts by states to incentivize whistleblowers financially underscore the importance of comprehensive corporate compliance programs that effectively address all internal reports of potential misconduct that may...more
8/18/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
CFTC ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hedge Funds ,
NASAA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Situation: The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has announced a string of substantial whistleblower awards totaling $54 million since April 1, 2020.
The Result: The financial incentives for employees or third...more
Chairman Jay Clayton's vision for the Securities and Exchange Commission has largely shaped the first half of 2018, with policies and initiatives focused on the "main street investor" and combating clear cases of outright...more
8/2/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Reporting ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers that whistleblowers must report alleged misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to benefit from Dodd-Frank's...more
2/26/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers