The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a notice last week warning member firms of their obligation to maintain a supervisory system for business activities outsourced to third-party vendors. Financial firms are increasingly using third-party vendors to carry out their business and regulatory oversight functions, FINRA said in its notice. Read More
The U.S. Justice Department has appointed David Last as head of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit, a high-profile division that investigates and prosecutes bribery cases. Last had served as acting chief of the FCPA unit since April 2020 and will now hold the position on a permanent basis. The Read More
Educational publishing and software company Pearson has agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges that it misled investors on the details of a 2018 data breach, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced yesterday. According to the SEC, London-based Pearson made misleading statements and omissions to investors about a cyber-attack Read More
An annual Environmental Protection Agency report on toxins will include reporting on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—chemicals used in industrial and manufacturing processes around the globe—for the first time. Earlier this week, the EPA published preliminary Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data about chemical releases, chemical waste management, and pollution prevention activities Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to strengthen existing disclosure rules for Chinese technology firms as Beijing continues its crackdowns on companies raising capital through offshore entities. Last month, the SEC announced a number of new directives for staff regarding Chinese companies that register securities directly in the U.S. Read More
Amazon has announced that it will appeal a record European Union fine of $886.6 million, incurred for processing personal data in violation of EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules. The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) handed down the fine in July in a decision that Amazon said Read More
A proposed bill before Congress would amend the False Claims Act by, in part, extending anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers regardless of their employment status. As it stands, the FCA currently grants anti-retaliation protections to any employees that file a qui tam suit. The FCA emboldens private citizens to file fraud Read More
The medical device company Avanos Medical agreed to pay $22 million to resolve criminal charges relating to fraudulent misbranding of its surgical gowns. The company was charged under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), for the mislabeling of its MicroCool surgical gowns. It also faced charges for obstruction of Read More
Payoneer has agreed to pay a fine of $1.4 million to settle numerous violations of multiple sanctions programs. The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced late last week that the publicly traded online payments company was responsible for 2,260 apparent violations of the office’s sanctions program. OFAC is a Treasury Read More
Ohio-based public utility holding company FirstEnergy will pay a $230 million fine for its connection to a bribery scheme to entice lawmakers to pass a $1 billion bailout for two of its nuclear power plants. The U.S. Justice Dept. charged the company with conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, Read More
