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Category Archives: Compliance

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Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

CFPB Director Forecasts Rulemaking on Consumer Arbitration Clauses in American Constitution Society Speech

In the latest public pronouncement on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) intention to engage in rulemaking to ban the use of certain arbitration clauses in consumer contracts – in particular, those that would limit consumer class relief – CFPB Director Richard Cordray recently elaborated on the CFPB’s goals in a speech to the American… Continue Reading
Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Compliance

Sharper Teeth for Sanctions Enforcement

The current UK sanctions enforcement regime is a complicated web reflecting the requirements of UN Security Council Regulations, EU Regulations, and UK Primary and Secondary Legislation.  Penalties for breaches of sanctions are generally set out in the various statutory instruments that implement particular sanctions. The UK Government, through the Policing and Crime Bill that is… Continue Reading
Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Securities and Commodities

Key Takeaways From This Year’s Early FCPA Enforcement Actions

February has been a big month for U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement. It started with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly resolving a string of relatively small matters.  Then, at the end of last week, the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a global resolution with VimpelCom in… Continue Reading
Compliance, Sanctions, Trade Embargo, and Export Controls

Iran Sanctions and the Implementation of the JCPOA: Lots of Changes, but Little Impact on U.S. Businesses?

In recent days, the news has been full of stories referring to the “end” or “lifting” of U.S. sanctions against Iran, actions that were taken after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on January 16, 2016, that Iran has met its obligations under the July 14, 2015, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in connection… Continue Reading
Compliance, Securities and Commodities

PCAOB Adopts Audit Engagement Partner Disclosure

On December 15, 2015, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) continued its pursuit of providing investors with improved audit transparency and audit accountability by adopting new rules requiring auditors to disclose: the name of the engagement partner; the name, location and extent of participation of any other accounting firm participating in the audit whose… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

SEC Provides Guidance on 2016 Examination Areas of Focus

On Monday, January 11, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ (OCIE) areas of focus for 2016, which include: protecting retail investors and investors for retirement; assessing issues related to market-wide risks; and use of its ability to analyze data to identify and examine registrants that may… Continue Reading
Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Fraud, Deception and False Claims

FinCEN Announces First Card Club AML Enforcement Action

Just in time for Christmas, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the financial industry (including casinos and card clubs) regulator, announced its first-ever enforcement action against a card club, California’s Oaks Card Club (Oaks). The enforcement action, which carried a penalty of $650,000, is the latest in a string of actions against gaming enterprises and is… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation, Immigration and Worksite Enforcement

Proposed Changes to Form I-9 Create New Compliance Questions

Employers take note: a new Form I-9 is in the making.  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security, announced on November 24, 2015, that it is seeking public comment on the various proposed changes.  The proposed changes will have far-reaching impact because all employers are required to complete and… Continue Reading
Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Fraud, Deception and False Claims

Cooperation, Leniency, Internal Investigations, Self-Incrimination, Privilege and All That Jazz

I recently attended a Fraud Conference in Miami where I heard a French lawyer insisting that since he was a defence advocate, his job was to defend his clients against fraud allegations, not to prosecute them.  Instead of cosying up to the authorities, and self-reporting, he regarded it as his duty to challenge the prosecutor and… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Securities and Commodities

SEC Enforcement Continues to Pursue Hedge Fund Advisers

The SEC continues to pursue enforcement actions against hedge fund managers for alleged self-dealing, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and valuation issues. As we’ve previously reported (here and here), the SEC has stepped up its review and enforcement of private fund managers following Dodd-Frank, which required most investment advisers to private funds to register with the… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Hudson City Savings Bank Reaches Largest Mortgage Redlining Settlement in DOJ History

The CFPB, DOJ, and Hudson City Savings Bank, F.S.B. (“Hudson City”) recently entered into the largest residential mortgage redlining settlement in DOJ history. On September 24, 2015, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Entry of Consent Order that resolves allegations of discriminatory practices of redlining in predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. The consent order… Continue Reading
Compliance, Securities and Commodities

SEC’s OCIE Issues a Second Cybersecurity Risk Alert

On Sept. 15, 2015, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its second cybersecurity risk alert (the “2015 Risk Alert”). The 2015 Risk Alert is a follow up to the OCIE’s April 2014 cybersecurity initiative risk alert (the “2014 Risk Alert”) announcing a series of examinations to identify cybersecurity… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends

Thirteenth Individual Convicted in Medicare Psychiatric Treatment Fraud

On September 10, a Houston psychiatrist became the thirteenth individual convicted in relation to partial hospitalization program (PHP) services fraudulently billed to Medicare. The psychiatrist was convicted by a federal jury and is scheduled to be sentenced in December. The government has charged numerous individuals with causing Houston’s Riverside General Hospital to submit approximately $158… Continue Reading
Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

FinCEN Announces Caesars Penalty After Multiyear Investigation

This week the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a Consent Agreement that imposed an $8 million civil penalty against Desert Palace, Inc. d/b/a Caesars Palace. Caesars first disclosed the investigation in SEC filings in late 2013. The investigation grew out of a 2012 audit performed by FinCEN’s examiner, the Internal Revenue Service Small Business/Self-Employed… Continue Reading
Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance

SEC and FinCEN Delivering One-Two Punch to Private Equity

Starting in January, it was widely reported that the SEC had upped its FCPA scrutiny of private equity funds required to register as investment advisers under Dodd-Frank, with requests for information being issued to a number of funds in connection with their courting of sovereign wealth funds. For many newly-regulated funds, this was likely viewed… Continue Reading
Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends

Anti-Corruption Enforcement in Brazil is in High Gear

Headlines of Brazil’s push to fight corruption are everywhere. The Petrobras scandal involves contracts worth billions of dollars, and prosecutors have uncovered a U.S. connection. The public is outraged and has called for President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, as the speaker of Brazil’s lower house of Congress and a former president of Brazil face recently filed… Continue Reading
Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Securities and Commodities

SEC Issues Wells Notice to Pimco Over Fund Valuations

On Monday, August 3, 2015, Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC (Pimco) announced that it had received a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning the valuation of certain nonagency mortgage-backed securities in its popular, exchange-traded Pimco Total Return ETF fund. The notice indicated that the SEC staff had made a preliminary determination to… Continue Reading
Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

FinCEN Proposes Rule Requiring Investment Adviser AML Compliance

Investment advisers may soon face increased costs and scrutiny thanks to a proposed rule issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).  On Tuesday, August 25, FinCEN proposed a rule that would require many investment advisers to implement AML compliance programs, including the filing of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and currency transaction reports (CTRs). The CTR requirement comes… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

Rising Conflict Among Federal Courts – Whether an Account Number Visible on a Debt Collection Envelope Violates the FDCPA

Section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) prohibits the use of any language or symbol, other than the debt collector’s address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by mail. The purpose of that prohibition is to protect the debtor’s privacy and avoid disclosing to anyone who might see the envelope… Continue Reading
Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation, Fraud, Deception and False Claims

Making Bankers Accountable

The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority have recently been showing signs of gearing up for the new regime which is intended to have the effect of making senior bankers and other financial services managers accountable for failings within their institutions. The intention, of course, is to avoid the kind of meltdown we all… Continue Reading
Compliance, Financial Institution Regulation

45 Day Warning: A Brief Overview of the New TRID Disclosure Requirements in Advance of the October 3, 2015 Implementation

With the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) going into effect Saturday, October 3, 2015, it is important for lenders and consumers alike to review the new forms and understand the timelines which will soon govern most consumer lending transactions secured by real property. Effective October 3, 2015, TRID disclosure requirements will apply to the majority… Continue Reading
Anti-Money Laundering, Compliance, Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Trends, Financial Institution Regulation

Casino Forfeiture a Reminder that FinCEN’s Regulatory Oversight May Involve DOJ and Criminal Penalty

In early June 2015, FinCEN assessed a civil money penalty on the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, located in the Northern Mariana Islands, an archipelago to the east of the Philippines (don’t feel bad if you click here to learn a little more). Being a U.S. territory, the Northern Marianas are subject to federal regulation.… Continue Reading

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