The U.S. Treasury is taking a fresh look at requiring investment advisers to meet the same standards as banks and broker-dealers, including potentially subjecting investment advisers to the BSA/AML compliance and reporting requirements that apply to other types of financial
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Glencore Resolves Charges of Global Corruption and Market Manipulation
On May 24, 2022, Glencore International A.G. (“Glencore”), a multi-national resource extraction and commodities trading company, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices…
Could It Be Easier to Convict a Doctor Than a Cartel Member? Why the Impending SCOTUS “Pill Mill” Ruling Makes Some Observers Nervous
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to issue what could be a monumental decision in the Court’s Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) jurisprudence as applied to the nation’s opioid epidemic. At issue in Ruan v. United States is the requisite intent…
Shadow Trading: Examining the SEC’s Insider Trading Theory in SEC v. Panuwat
On January 14, 2022, a federal district court in the Northern District of California declined to dismiss the first-ever enforcement action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) based on allegations of “shadow trading” — the use of…
As Russia Sanctions Mount, FinCEN Issues Advisory on Kleptocracy and Foreign Public Corruption
On April 14, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory focusing on detecting kleptocrats (i.e., government officials who appropriate national resources for personal gain) and the proceeds of foreign public corruption and preventing them from entering the U.S.…
Internal Investigations: Law on Work Product & Attorney-Client Privilege
Following up on a recent Public Chatter blog in a series about internal investigations, note that Federal Rule of Evidence 502(g) states:
(1) “Attorney-client privilege” means the protection that applicable law provides for confidential attorney-client communications; and
(2) “Work-product protection”…
New DOJ Guidelines Regarding FOIA Create Presumption of Openness
Background on the Guidelines and FOIA
On March 15, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released new guidelines favoring the disclosure of federal agency records under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). Signed into law by President Lyndon B.…
DOJ Foreshadows Increased Prosecutions of Corporate Crime
In remarks to the ABA Institute on White Collar Crime, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. delivered a wakeup call: enforcement activity by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “will only accelerate as…
SEC v. Team Resources, Inc.: Exploring SEC Disgorgement Post-Liu
Recent briefing in SEC v. Team Resources, Inc., a long-running case challenging a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) disgorgement award, is a reminder of both the significance of the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Liu v. SEC and the…
Seventh Circuit Holds Objective Scienter Standard Applies to FCA
In its recent decision in United States ex. rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., the Seventh Circuit joined four other circuits in holding that the Supreme Court’s objective scienter standard articulated in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case Safeco…