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While much attention is given to compliance with applicable laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, many companies working on projects sponsored by Multi-Lateral Development Banks overlook that they have subjected themselves to an entirely separate regime of anti-fraud and anti-corruption regulations with serious consequences for non-compliance.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) caught the attention of the corporate and investment world in August 2021 when it filed an insider trading action against biopharmaceutical company employee Matthew Panuwat based on a “shadow trading” theory.
A recent privilege dispute in E.D.N.Y. case La Liberte v. Reid provides a prime opportunity to review the law and practical aspects surrounding attorney-client privilege, work product protection, and the crime-fraud exception to privileged communications.
Another Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) court has sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in its enforcement campaign against the unregistered sale of cryptocurrency assets.
The Department of Justice is stepping up its focus on artificial intelligence (“AI”), with officials warning that harsher penalties could be in store for those who deliberately misuse the technology to commit white collar offenses, such as price fixing and market manipulation.
On January 10, 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) introduced the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”), aimed at encouraging individuals to disclose information about specific criminal offenses, particularly urging them to do so early and voluntarily. In return for their cooperation, SDNY will enter into a non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”) if certain conditions are met.
This year kicked off with several important name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) updates that universities, boosters,1 and NIL Collectives2 would do well to review. Earlier this month, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions Panel (the “Committee”) issued a negotiated resolution with Florida State University (“FSU”) following an investigation into alleged impermissible conduct during the recruitment of a football player who was listed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (“NCAA”) transfer portal. This resolution comes on the heels of new NCAA disclosure rules and the NCAA President’s letter that proposes allowing universities to enter into NIL agreements with student-athletes.
In a long overdue move to fill a perceived gap in U.S. law, this year’s National Defense Authorization Act included a new law that will finally criminalize the solicitation of bribes by foreign officials.
On November 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published its 2023 annual enforcement report which revealed a continuation of 2022’s record-setting enforcement activity.