Since the market crisis there has been a continuing outcry about holding senior corporate executives responsible. From Capitol Hill to citizens across the land there has been a continuous demand for some kind of Judge Roy...more
Welcome to Dorsey & Whitney’s monthly Anti-Corruption Digest. In this digest, we draw together news of enforcement activity throughout the world and aim to reduce your information overload. Our London, Minneapolis, New York...more
11/2/2015
/ Bribery ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Broken Windows ,
China ,
Corporate Officers ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Hitachi ,
Ireland ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Siemens ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Yates Memorandum
Since at least the market crisis there has been a clamor to convict senior corporate officials of federal felonies – or at least name them in a civil law enforcement action by the SEC or another agency. For years the...more
10/7/2015
/ C-Suite Executives ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Management ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Investigations ,
Law Enforcement ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
The Yates Memo, refocusing DOJ criminal and civil corporate investigations, continues to be the critical topic of discussion this week. The Memo, discussed here, directs that individuals be the focus of the inquiry from the...more
9/18/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Algorithmic Trading ,
Audits ,
Australia ,
C-Suite Executives ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Government Investigations ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Insider Trading ,
Offering Fraud ,
Personal Benefit ,
Price Manipulation ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US v Newman ,
Yates Memorandum
Since at least the market crisis there has been a clamor to charge and convict senior corporate officials – or at least name them in a civil law enforcement action by the SEC or another agency. For years the Government...more
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was aimed at halting corrupt payments made to improperly influence foreign officials. In drafting the Act Congress chose not to impose liability on the foreign official involved in corrupt...more
The SEC and the Department of Justice announced insider trading charges against a former investment banker and his long time friend centered on two deals. The SEC’s complaint also named a third person alleged to have been a...more
A critical part of cooperating with an SEC or DOJ investigation for FCPA or other possible violations is the production of documents. In order for the company to assess what happened it must conduct an internal investigation...more
7/22/2015
/ Books & Records ,
Business Privilege ,
Confidential Information ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Eli Lilly ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Government Investigations ,
Independent Boards ,
Internal Investigations ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Evaluations
The DOJ resolved another FCPA action with the company entering into a deferred prosecution agreement, paying a criminal fine and agreeing to the imposition of a monitor after self reporting and cooperating. Two of the firm’s...more
7/20/2015
/ Bribery ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Construction Industry ,
Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Indonesia
IAP Worldwide Services Inc., a Virginia based facilities management firm, entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice and agreed to pay a $7.1 million penalty to resolve FCPA charges. A vice...more
6/23/2015
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Internal Controls ,
Kuwait ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements
The question of forum selection by the SEC was a key issue this week. While to date suits challenging the SEC’s right to bring an action as an administrative proceeding rather than in federal court have had little success –...more
6/13/2015
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appointments Clause ,
Article II ,
Australia ,
Australian Securities and Investments Commission ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
CFTC ,
Delegation Doctrine ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Forum Selection ,
Injunctions ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Rule 105 ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Seventh Amendment
This is the fifth and concluding segment of a five part series discussing the impact of the Second Circuit’s ruling in Newman on SEC insider trading cases.
Analysis -
The impact of Newman on the SEC and the DOJ may...more
Deutsche Bank paid $2.519 billion in fines and disgorgement, a subsidiary pleaded guilty to criminal charges and the parent entered into a three year deferred prosecution agreement which requires a monitor to resolve charges...more
The Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges against a U.K. trader who is alleged to have contributed to the flash crash almost five years ago. The trader is alleged to have manipulated the market for certain...more
Almost five years ago the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 600 points in five minutes, creating chaos in the markets and huge losses for many. The market debacle became known as the flash crash. The causes were...more
Despite massive publicity and numerous cases by enforcement authorities, investment fund fraud actions continue to be a staple of the SEC, CFTC and the DOJ. In case after case investors are convinced to part with their hard...more
2/10/2015
/ Bank Fraud ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Forex ,
Fraud ,
Investment Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
The DOJ’s settlement with S&P for $1.4 billion, coupled with admissions of fact, made headlines this week. The settlement was joined by 19 states and the District of Columbia. The DOJ and the states will essentially split the...more
2/9/2015
/ Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Mail Fraud ,
McGraw Hill ,
PCAOB ,
RMBS ,
S&P ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Wire Fraud
The Department of Justice, in conjunction with 19 states and the District of Columbia, resolved market crisis era suits in a $1.375 billion settlement. The DOJ suit named as defendants rating agency Standard & Poor’s...more
FCPA enforcement was the focus this first week of the new year. The DOJ brought FCPA and Travel Act charges against an individual alleged to have repeatedly bribed an official of the European Bank of Reconstruction and...more
1/9/2015
/ Administrative Hearings ,
Banks ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Protection ,
EU ,
False Statements ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Travel Act
FCPA enforcement officials have repeatedly emphasized that a key focus is individuals who violate the Act. This week the Department of Justice announced the filing of a multi-count indictment against the owner of a privately...more
The Commission brought two FCPA cases this week, one of which was in conjunction with the DOJ. Both centered on the payments for gifts and travel in China.
In addition, the SEC filed three manipulation cases, an action...more
12/19/2014
/ Audits ,
Australia ,
Avon ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
JOBS Act ,
PCAOB ,
Price Manipulation ,
Related Parties ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud
Travel, entertainment and gifts continue to be a central focus of FCPA enforcement. Earlier this month, and last month, the Commission filed settled FCPA actions centered on these items. Now the SEC and the DOJ have settled...more
The SEC and the DOJ have waged an aggressive battle against insider trading for years, resulting in a string of courtroom victories, guilty pleas and settlements as well as significant sanctions which are supposed to deter...more
The Commission filed another settled FCPA action this week. The proceeding named two U.S. citizens living abroad as Respondents. The DOJ issued an Opinion discussing successor liability....more
11/21/2014
/ Administrative Review Board ,
Australia ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Ebola ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
First Amendment ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Injunctions ,
Insider Trading ,
Misappropriation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Successor Liability ,
UK
This week the SEC and the DOJ filed a settled FCPA action. The disgorgement paid by the issuer put the case at number ten on the list for the largest such amounts paid in an SEC FCPA case....more
11/7/2014
/ Australia ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Price Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stocks