Category: News

SEC Whistleblowers: Technical violation or substantial damages? One of the central questions that we ask in the evaluation of information from potential whistleblowers is whether there is real and actual harm as a result of the company or individual breaking the law. In other words, is it merely a technical violation of the law or...

We wrote a few months back about the creation of the Cyber Unit and Retail Strategy Task Force at the SEC. In the Keynote Speech at the Securities Enforcement Forum, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Stephanie Avakian provided additional information about the priorities of these units and the need for them to exist....

One Step Closer for Whistleblower Protections in Australia Australia appears to have moved one step closer to adopting whistleblower rewards and additional retaliation protections with a report last month by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. The report’s main recommendation is for Australia to establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority to support whistleblowers,...

Bribery Investigation Settled for Almost $1 Billion The United States has concluded its third-largest FCPA enforcement action with a settlement of $965 million in total penalties (including Dutch and Swedish penalties) by Telia Company AB and its subsidiary, Coscom. The Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York called it “one of the...

Whistleblower Contracts Clarified by IRS Earlier this year, the IRS Whistleblower Office and its Director Lee Martin issued guidelines for the use of 6103(n) contracts with tax whistleblowers. This has been a somewhat controversial area in the past, since it requires balancing the privacy rights of the taxpayer. In favor of more IRS-whistleblower communication, Senator...

2017’s CFTC Whistleblower Program We are approaching the end of the U.S. Government’s 2017 fiscal year on September 30th. We haven’t written too much about the CFTC whistleblower program this year because there have only been a handful of newsworthy events in the enforcement of the Commodity Exchange Act. However, after reading the news stories...

CFTC’s Self-Reporting Program Now Available The CFTC’s (Commodity Futures Trading Commissions)  Director of Enforcement unveiled a new program this week to promote self-reporting of violations of the Commodity Exchange Act or CFTC Rules in the financial industry. According to James McDonald, it will provide a significantly reduced penalty for companies and individuals that self-report and...