• |

    Sep. 13, 2023

SEC Charges 11 More Wall Street Firms With Widespread Records Failures

The SEC announced charges against 11 more Wall Street firms on August 8, 2023, for failing to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The firms acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of federal securities laws, agreed to pay combined penalties of $289 million, and have begun improving their compliance policies and procedures to address control weaknesses. Included in the charges are Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., SG Americas Securities, LLC, BMO Capital Markets Corp., Mizuho Securities USA LLC, Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc., Moelis & Company LLC, Wedbush Securities Inc., and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. The Anti-Corruption Report consulted with Miller & Chevalier attorney Sandra Hanna, for insights about the actions and what we can expect to come. See “Compliance Challenges in Records Management” (Aug. 16, 2023).

M&A Lessons From the $388‑Million Credit Suisse Settlement

When Swiss bank UBS acquired rival Credit Suisse in June in a rescue takeover initiated by the Swiss government, it knew it was also acquiring the legal troubles of a financial institution on the brink of collapse. UBS’s takeover meant having to foot the bill for $388 million in combined penalties in a coordinated global resolution reached with U.S., U.K. and Swiss authorities. We spoke to Withersworldwide partner Harvey Knight and counsel Martin Auerbach, as well as MoloLamken partner Eric Nitz, about lessons that could be drawn from the penalties and the corrective measures that the regulators required. See “Noticing Red Flags, Cultivating Company Culture Key to Compliance” (May 24, 2023).

Colombian Conglomerate Resolves DOJ and SEC FCPA Charges

The DOJ and SEC announced resolutions on August 10, 2023, with Colombian financial conglomerate Grupo Aval and its bank subsidiary, Corporación Financiera Colombiana (Corficolombiana), for violations of the FCPA. The entities agreed to pay over $80 million, an amount that could drop by as much as $20 million under conditions related to resolutions with Colombian authorities, as set out by the DOJ. According to the SEC and the DOJ, between 2012 and 2015, Corficolombiana conspired to pay more than $23 million in bribes to Colombian officials to win the rights to construct and operate a 328‑mile highway project. The Anti-Corruption Report obtained insights from Matteson Ellis, a partner at Miller & Chevalier, about the case and what compliance practitioners can learn from it. See “Deputy Assistant AG Miller Discusses Robust DOJ Anti-Corruption Efforts, Stressing Individual Accountability, Self-Reporting, Remediation and Cooperation” (Mar. 1, 2023).

Navigating Evolving Data Breach Litigation and Regulatory Risks

Companies face “virtually inevitable” class action lawsuits when their customers experience data breaches affecting substantial amounts of consumer information, Orrick partner Douglas H. Meal said at the Practising Law Institute’s Twenty-Fourth Annual Institute on Privacy and Cybersecurity Law. He and Sidley partner Alan Charles Raul took a comprehensive look at the regulatory and litigation implications of data breaches, including recent developments in class action litigation, the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on regulatory agencies, and regulatory and enforcement activity by the FTC, SEC and other government bodies concerning cybersecurity and data privacy. See “How Law Firms Can Prevent, Detect and Respond to Ransomware Attacks” (Sep. 15, 2021). 

SEC and CFTC Continue to Penalize Firms for Electronic Communications Recordkeeping Violations

Since 2021, the SEC and CFTC have imposed approximately $2 billion in aggregate penalties on more than a dozen registered firms for failure to preserve records of business-related communications, particularly those made on unapproved devices or apps (off-channel communications). The agencies continue to target such violations, recently resolving four parallel enforcement proceedings against the U.S. broker-dealer, swap dealer and futures commission merchant arms of HSBC and The Bank of Nova Scotia based on the firms’ failures to preserve records of electronic communications and associated supervisory failures. This article parses the four settlement orders. See “Compliance Challenges in Records Management” (Aug. 16, 2023). 

Sidley Picks Kenneth A. Polite as Co‑Head of White Collar: Defense and Investigations Practice

Sidley Austin named Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., to co‑lead its white collar: defense and investigations practice. Polite will join as a partner after having spent two years as Assistant Attorney General for the criminal division in the DOJ. For insights from Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., see “Assistant A.G. Polite Discusses Declinations in Cases With Aggravating Circumstances and Revised ECCP” (Apr. 12, 2023). For insights from Sidley, see “FINRA Clarifies Stance on CCO Supervisory Liability” (May 25, 2022).

Avantor Hires Claudius Sokenu as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

Chemical company Avantor has announced the addition of Claudius Sokenu as chief legal and compliance officer and executive vice president, responsible for legal, ethics and compliance functions. For insights from Claudius Sokenu, see “Brockmeyer and Stokes Offer Four Benefits of Cooperation and Four Ways Companies Can Go Wrong in Their Internal Investigations” (Dec. 16, 2015).

Most-Read Articles

Ion Analytics' Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

In honor of International Women’s Day, some of ION Analytics' editorial teams led by women interviewed notable women in the markets and industries we cover. This part highlights notable women in compliance and hedge fund, data privacy and cybersecurity, and anti-corruption law, including Amii Barnard-Bahn, Abigail Bell, Genna Garver, Jane Horvath, Barbara Li, Amy Mushahwar, Mara Senn and Carol Widger. The interviews are here.

Data, Culture, ESG and Scope Creep with GM's Michael Ortwein

The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with chief compliance officer and assistant general counsel at General Motors, Michael Ortwein, who shared his insights on top-of-mind issues in advance of his participation in ACI's FCPA Conference. 

The full video is here. The associated article is here.

Corporate Compliance and Enforcement Hot Topics With IBM VP Una Dean

The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with IBM's vice president and assistant general counsel of investigations Una Dean, who co-chaired ACI's FCPA conference, about a range of hot compliance topics. 

The video is here

Quick Take on FARA

https://acuris.wistia.com/medias/wmb5vyeq2f

The Anti-Corruption Report discusses the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in this short video. For our three-part guide to FARA and the new risk environment, see here.

ACR Editor Discusses Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Anti-Corruption Compliance

Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel recently appeared on a podcast with Perkins Coie White Collar & Investigations partners Gina LaMonica and Caryn Trombino, who discussed the use of AI in compliance programs, including trends in AI-based compliance, steps companies can take to utilize AI in their compliance programs, and how regulators view the use of data and AI in compliance programs. Listen to the podcast here.

ACR Q3 Editorial Update

Listen to our Fall Editorial Update for a discussion of recent enforcement actions; enforcement trends and policies; and top-of-mind issues, such as internal investigations and hotlines, all in under 15 minutes. Register here.

ACR and CSLR Spring Update 2020

​​​​The Senior Editors of the Anti-Corruption Report and the Cybersecurity Law Report recently teamed up to present an update on the trends and hot topics in the anti-corruption, cybersecurity and data privacy spaces since the beginning of the year and what the publications will be focusing on in the coming months. A complimentary download of the webinar is available here.

Upcoming Webinar to Explore Best Practices for AML Compliance by Private Fund Managers

Please join our sister product, the Hedge Fund Law Report, on Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, for a complimentary webinar discussing the key components of a robust anti-money laundering program. To register for the webinar, click here.

ACR Webinar: The Art and Science of Transaction Monitoring: A Google Perspective

Transaction monitoring can help a company identify problem areas and assess how well its compliance program is working. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report for a complimentary webinar on May 2, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT, where Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel will interview Google global ethics & compliance senior counsel Therese Lee and forensic program manager Aditya Yerramilli about how Google handles the art and science of transaction monitoring. Registration information is here.

ACR Webinar: Mitigating Risk in Argentina After the Notebooks Scandal

Doing business in a country that is embroiled in a mega-scandal can be treacherous. This is particularly true when the local business community is slow to get on the compliance bandwagon, as has been the case in Argentina while the Notebooks Scandal has been unfolding. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report on April 17, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT for a complimentary webinar in which Editor-in-Chief Nicole Di Schino will discuss how to mitigate risk in light of the developing scandal with Argentinian attorney Guillermo Jorge, a partner at Bruchou, Fernandez Madero & Lombardi, and Barrick Gold’s Jonathan Drimmer. To register, please click here.