In a holiday shortened week, dark pools were again a focus for regulators. This week FINRA sanctioned Goldman Sachs in connection with the operation of its dark pool....more
7/3/2014
/ Audits ,
Australia ,
Compliance ,
Dark Pool ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Private Offerings ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Short Sales
The Supreme Court handed down its much anticipated decision in Halliburton. While the Court declined to overrule Basic and its presumption of reliance based on the fraud-on-the-market theory, it did alter existing practice....more
6/27/2014
/ Banks ,
Basic v Levinson ,
Class Certification ,
Dark Pool ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Halliburton ,
Halliburton v Erica P. John Fund ,
Pay-To-Play ,
PCAOB ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
High speed trading, dark pools and similar market structure issues have become hotly debated topics. Former CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton gave several speeches discussion the subjects and proposed that high speed traders be...more
6/10/2014
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
CFTC ,
Confidential Information ,
Dark Pool ,
Disclosure ,
Equity Markets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Liquidnet ,
Mary Jo White ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC had mixed results in court this week. A Manhattan jury returned a verdict against the agency in a high profile and long-running insider trading case where the agency had previously obtained favorable rulings from the...more
6/6/2014
/ Bitcoin ,
Chevron Deference ,
Citigroup ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Consent Decrees ,
Electronic Blue Sheets ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
GE Capital Retail Bank ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Judge Rakoff ,
Municipal Bonds ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
The Commission issued an order which stayed the small segment of its controversial conflict mineral rule which the Court of Appeals concluded violated the First Amendment. The order does not impact the bulk of the rule. This...more
5/9/2014
/ Breach of Duty ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Custody Rule ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
First Amendment ,
Form SD ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
PCAOB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Tax Evasion
Chair Mary Jo White testified before Congress this week. Her testimony focused on the budget, reviewing the recent work of the agency. The Commission brought a series of civil injunctive and administrative proceedings this...more
5/2/2014
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
eBay ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Mary Jo White ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
White Collar Crimes
A key part of the new “get tough” enforcement doctrine is omnipresence – that is, creating the impression that the SEC’s Division of Enforcement is everywhere all the time. This theory, a variation of the “cop on the beat”...more
The Commission prevailed after a two week jury trial in an insider trading case this week, ending a string of losses. The agency also filed two settled actions, one based on insider trading claims and another involving...more
2/14/2014
/ Australia ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Volcker Rule
Matthew Martoma was convicted of insider trading by a Manhattan jury. That jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud. The convictions continues the unbroken string of victories in...more
2/10/2014
/ CFTC ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hedge Funds ,
Insider Trading ,
Martoma ,
Misappropriation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Short Sales ,
Stop Order
The insider trading trial of former SAC Capital employee Matthew Martoma continued this week. The SEC filed one new administrative proceeding this week as Washington, D.C. and much of the East coast was blanketed with snow...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition for review of an SEC Order upholding fines and sanctions against the firm and three of its employees. The underlying charges were based on alleged violations of Securities...more
The insider trading trial of former SAC Capital official Matthew Martoma opened this week in Manhattan with jury selection. The SEC announced the resignation of George Canellos, Co-director of the Division of Enforcement....more
1/10/2014
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Australia ,
Banking Sector ,
Bernie Madoff ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
FERC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Statements ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
George Canellos ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Libor ,
Martoma ,
Money Laundering ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
RBS ,
SAC Capital ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Short Sales ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
UK
Parts I and II of this series looked back at 2013 and examined select cases which may influence the future path of SEC enforcement. This segment focuses on the path being charted for the Enforcement Division by a new...more
Michael Steinberg, formerly of SAC Capital, was found guilty of insider trading by a jury. The verdict preserved the unblemished record of the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan which has prevailed in each of the insider...more
12/20/2013
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hong Kong ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
JOBS Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
UK