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
The Financial Reporting Council, Britain’s audit regulator, admonished KPMG once again for conducting poor audits. The FRC says the Big Four firm’s banking audits are not up to acceptable standards for the third year in a row. And KPMG isn’t alone as a target of the regulator’s criticism: Out of Read More
The European Commission has put forth a package of legislative proposals to strengthen the European Union’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML and CFT) rules, including standardizing rules regarding cryptocurrency. The set of proposed rules would create a new EU authority, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), a Europe-wide agency Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it has reached a settlement with the specialty retailer Tandy Leather Factory Inc. and its former chief executive officer Shannon Greene, over charges of accounting, reporting, and control failures that led to a multi-year restatement of company financial statements. Tandy’s inventory tracking Read More
