The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has fined Santander UK 107.8 million pounds (U.S. $132 million) for “serious and persistent gaps” in its anti-money laundering compliance controls. According to the FCA, between December 2012 and October 2017, Santander “failed to properly oversee and manage its AML systems,” which “significantly impacted” its Read More
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced on Dec. 6 it has sanctioned three KPMG firms and issued $7.7 million in total penalties for a range of violations that occurred from 2016 to 2021. According to the PCAOB, these violations included a failure to cooperate with a PCAOB inspection, Read More
A New York State Supreme Court jury on Dec. 6 convicted the Trump Organization for engaging in a 15-year criminal tax fraud scheme and falsifying business records, marking the first-ever criminal convictions of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s companies, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced. The Trump Organization is a Read More
Telecommunications company AT&T has agreed to pay a $6.25 million penalty for its selective disclosure of material nonpublic information to research analysts in violation of Regulation FD. The penalty is the largest ever in a Regulation FD case, the SEC announced. As part of the settlement, three AT&T executives agreed Read More
ABB, a Swiss-based global technology company, will pay a $315 million criminal penalty in a resolution with the Department of Justice over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) resulting from bribes paid to an official in South Africa, the DoJ announced. In addition to the criminal penalty, ABB Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s widespread investigation into the unauthorized use of electronic messaging for business-related purposes has now hit private equity firms. On Nov. 8, three private equity firms—Apollo Global Management, the Carlyle Group, and KKR—disclosed in regulatory filings they’re facing SEC investigations over their employees’ alleged unauthorized use Read More
The European Commission announced that it has opened an in-depth investigation into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard over anticompetition concerns. Both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard develop and publish games for PC game consoles and mobile devices, as well as distribute games for PCs. In addition, Microsoft also distributes games Read More
Vonage, a subsidiary of Ericsson, has been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to pay a record $100 million settlement to be used to refund harmed consumers after the internet phone service provider imposed junk fees and created obstacles for consumers who tried to cancel their service. According to the Read More
SolarWinds disclosed in a press release accompanying a recent regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued it a “Wells Notice” concerning an investigation into SolarWind’s previously disclosed cyberattack on the company’s Orion Software Platform and internal systems. “The Wells Notice states that the SEC staff has made Read More
Leidos, a U.S. engineering company, disclosed in its latest quarterly filing that it has received two federal grand jury subpoenas in connection with two separate criminal investigations relating to potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and antitrust laws. In a Nov. 1 quarterly filing, Leidos cryptically said “through Read More
