This post was written by Amy. J. Greer and C. Neil Gray. Earlier this week, J. Bradley Bennett, Executive Vice-President, Enforcement for FINRA, spoke at a gathering hosted by SIFMA’s Compliance & Legal Society. Bennett’s remarks purported to bust common myths about the FINRA Enforcement program he leads—myths like FINRA picks on larger firms and … Continue Reading
This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo. The pool of potential competitors for federal contracts may have just gotten a little bit smaller. On February 21, 2014, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics issued a memorandum to all Department of Defense (“DOD”) contracting agencies and officers instructing that, effective immediately and … Continue Reading
This post was written by Amy Greer. I guess we will see whether SEC Chairman Mary Jo White revisits her decision to try more cases, given the unattractive string of losses that is piling up. Most recently, a Federal District Judge in the Northern District of Georgia, after a bench trial, found in favor of … Continue Reading
This post was written by Bethany Brown, Michael J. Lowell, and Leigh T. Hansson. What does pork have to do with national security? Companies contemplating cross-border investment in the United States should be asking themselves this question in the aftermath of recent action by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). Last … Continue Reading
This post was written by James A. Rolfes. In a “crackdown” on the “gatekeepers” who put investors at risk when they fail to uncover financial statement fraud and misstatements, the Securities and Exchange Commission this week highlighted the work of “Operation Broken Gate” when it announced the filing of several proceedings against certified public accountants … Continue Reading
This post was written by James A. Rolfes. Expressing its concern that “the current difficult fundraising environment … can incentivize private equity managers to artificially inflate valuations,” the Securities and Exchange Commission emphasized the need for private equity firms to “implement policies and procedures to ensure that investors receive performance data derived from the disclosed … Continue Reading
This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo. In a move that should surprise no one, the Councils responsible for the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) have adopted a final rule prohibiting the award of a government contract using 2012 appropriated funds to an inverted domestic corporation or a subsidiary of one. First published in May … Continue Reading
This post was written by Joelle E.K. Laszlo and Gunjan Talati. Two bid protest decisions issued late last year have upheld the Department of Veterans Affairs’ practice of purchasing from Federal Supply Schedule contractors without the need to consider setting aside such purchases for veteran-owned small businesses, or service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. As a result, … Continue Reading
This post was written by Gunjan Talati and Timothy Nagle. The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) became the law of the land in early January. This NDAA contains a notice requirement that follows the government trend of the past few years of being required to tattle on yourself. Specifically, the NDAA directs the Department … Continue Reading
This post was written by Rosanne M. Kay and Vanessa Assaiante. The SFO has removed guidance on both self-reporting and on facilitation payments and corporate hospitality from its website leaving uncertainty behind. The removal of the guidance on self-reporting is not surprising. It has been on the cards since Glyn Powell (Head of Fraud at … Continue Reading
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. In a recent appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, there is little doubt that the SEC thought its case was something of an easy win. The story is not pretty. Richard L. Goble, the remaining defendant in the matter – everyone … Continue Reading
This post was written by Rosanne M. Kay. I recently spoke at the 6th International Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress in Budapest. Jane de Lozey, Head of Fraud at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and Raymond Emson, Head of Policy at the SFO, were also scheduled to speak but unfortunately could not make it at the last … Continue Reading
This post was written by Marjorie C. Holmes and Brett Hillis. There is a financial Services Bill currently going through Parliament, which introduces a competition objective for the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to implement as part of its general duties: The matters to which the FCA may have regard in considering the effectiveness of … Continue Reading
This post was written by Rosanne M. Kay. Word on the street is that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has a number of active investigations into potential offences under the Bribery Act 2010. So far, the Bribery Act has only been used in a reasonably minor prosecution of a court clerk who took bribes … Continue Reading
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. The SEC sent out a warning yesterday that a phony message referencing the Agency’s Whistleblower Office is being used in connection with a potential computer hack or dissemination of malicious software. According to the SEC Alert, sent through the Agency’s push technology, it has received numerous calls … Continue Reading
This post was written by Simon Hart. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has stepped up its attempts to persuade employees and professional advisors to blow the whistle on fraudulent or corrupt practices within the organisations they serve. The SFO has announced a new “SFO Confidential” service that allows whistleblowers to report concerns either by … Continue Reading
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. After his conviction on 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy in what has been described as the biggest insider trading case ever – and, by his defense counsel, John Dowd as a “victory,” since he didn’t get convicted on all counts – today Galleon founder Raj … Continue Reading
This post was written by Simon D. Hart. With the coming into force of the UK’s Bribery Act 2010 today, companies will be reviewing and revising a wide range of documents, policies and procedures across their organisation. Whilst in-house Counsel will almost certainly have been at the forefront of any internal review to ensure the company’s … Continue Reading
This post was written by George Hoare. On 6 June 2011, the European Commission (EC) outlined measures to tackle the problem of corruption within the European Union (EU). According to figures quoted in the press release, four out of five EU citizens regard corruption as a major problem in their Member State, with corruption estimated … Continue Reading
This post was written by Simon D. Hart. After months of speculation, and rumoured turf wars within the UK government, it has today been confirmed that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) will not be broken up and will remain independent of the new National Crime Agency (“NCA”). The SFO will retain both its investigative … Continue Reading
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. The verdict is in – finally. Guilty on all counts. We’ll have more on that later, as will many people, no doubt. But for those who wondered what took the Rajaratnam jury so long, I think it’s worth a reminder that, while the evidence in the case … Continue Reading
This post was written by Wendy Schwartz and Andrew Bernasconi. The Justice Department has once again taken aggressive action against financial institutions and mortgage lenders – this time through a False Claims Act action that seeks more than 1.1 billion dollars in damages. On Tuesday, the government filed a complaint against mortgage lender MortgageIT and … Continue Reading
This post was written by Amy J. Greer. At the recent SEC Speaks conference, the recounting of a particular SEC Enforcement action caught my attention and I thought it particularly worthy of note, since most of us who practice in this area believe – with pretty good reason and a whole lot of evidence – … Continue Reading
This post was written by Anne E. Borkovic. As everyone can cite, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) in part prohibits offering or providing anything of value to a foreign official to obtain or retain business. But what does that mean in practice? Two federal courts are grappling with defining “foreign official” and, in turn, … Continue Reading
