I’ve just come inside after digging out from yesterday’s blizzard. These are some of the compliance-related stories I’m going to read by the fire.
Is Bitcoin Really in a Bubble? in Knowledge@Wharton
[T]he cryptocurrency community is divided on whether bitcoin is a “side show or the show.” However, he believes that the “fundamental breakthrough is not necessarily bitcoin but the blockchain technology,” which is the distributed ledger that tracks these transactions. [More…]
The SEC and Securities Plaintiffs’ Bar Take Aim at Initial Coin Offerings
However, its recent investigative report addressing the initial coin offering (“ICO”) of a virtual organization (“21(a) Report”)1 marks a dramatic increase in the SEC’s focus that will have a profound impact on how this emerging market will be regulated. The report also signals an eventual uptick in enforcement activity and supplies plaintiffs’ attorneys with a new weapon for their complaints. As discussed in this article, the 21(a) Report therefore has far-reaching implications to the creation, offer, and sale of ICOs as well as the promotional and investment activities relating to them. [More…]
Global Magnitsky Sanctions Target Human Rights Abusers and Government Corruption Around the World
by David S. Cohen, Kimberly A. Parker, Jay Holtmeier, Ronald I. Meltzer, David M. Horn, Lillian Howard Potter, and Michael Romais
On December 20, 2017, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (EO) targeting corruption and human rights abuses around the world. The EO implements last year’s Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (the Global Magnitsky Act), which authorized the president to impose sanctions against human rights abusers and those who facilitate government corruption.[1] The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which will administer the EO, also added 15 individuals and 37 entities to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). [More…]
CCO Authority and Independence by Tom Fox
In the 2012 FCPA Guidance, under Hallmark Three of the 10 Hallmarks of an Effective Compliance Program, the focus was articulated by the title of the Hallmark, Oversight, Autonomy, and Resources. In it the 2012 FCPA Guidance focused on the whether the CCO held senior management status and had a direct reporting line to the Board; stating “In appraising a compliance program, DOJ and SEC also consider whether a company has assigned responsibility for the oversight and implementation of a company’s compliance program to one or more specific senior executives within an organization. Those individuals must have appropriate authority within the organization adequate autonomy from management, and sufficient resources to ensure that the company’s compliance program is implemented effectively. Adequate autonomy generally includes direct access to an organization’s governing authority, such as the board of directors and committees of the board of directors.”[More…]