These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention.
It’s On! Federal Judge to Hear First Ever Oral Argument Asserting ICOs are NOT Securities. Read Legal Briefs From SEC, DOJ and Defense Here . . by John Reed Stark
This week the ICO/SEC battle is finally on: The first ever oral argument before a federal judge on the issue of whether initial coin offerings (ICOs) are securities offerings and are therefore subject to SEC jurisdiction. Below are the details and all of the relevant court filings in one place, neatly organized for quick and easy review. [More…]
Enforcement Co-Chief Offers Tips on Meeting with the SEC by Steven R. Peikin in the CLS Blue Sky Blog
At the SEC, we frequently confront issues that are novel, complex, or both. For the staff, productive communication with defense counsel can often provide a better understanding of complicated businesses, markets, and financial products. Effective communication allows us to tailor our theories, focus our inquiries and get to the end of our investigations efficiently.
I believe that the benefits of this communication flow in both directions. That is, effective dialogue can also yield significant benefits for defense counsel and their clients. In some instances, defense counsel will persuade us that we have gotten something wrong, leading us to abandon a charge, recommend different relief, or decline to pursue a matter entirely. Even where that isn’t the case, effective communication often helps defense counsel to better understand our thinking, which in turn allows them to provide better advice to their clients. [More…]
AT&T, foreign corporations risk legal action for payments to Michael Cohen firm by Francine McKenna in MarketWatch
The payments made to the personal attorney of President Donald Trump raise questions as to whether these companies violated anti-bribery rules, experts in federal bribery laws say.
The lawyer for the adult film star suing the president revealed that three companies, AT&T, Switzerland’s Novartis and Korea Aerospace Industries, made payments to Michael Cohen. Each company has confirmed the payments that the lawyer, Michael Avenatti, disclosed. AT&T said its $200,000 was for insights into understanding the new administration, Korea Aerospace said its $150,000 was for legal insights on U.S. accounting standards and Novartis said it paid $1.2 million for insights onto Trump’s stance on health policy. [More…]
Cyber Matters: The Unintended Consequence of GDPR? Spam by Rob Sloan, cybersecurity research director, WSJ Pro
One of the unintended consequences of GDPR, is that internet registrars no longer will be able to share information, known as ‘WHOIS’ data, that includes names, physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses related to the registered owners of websites or domains. Under GDPR, discrete registrars that collect the data when domains are purchased no longer will be able to share it, because it will be classified as “personally identifiable information.”
This likely will result in a significant uptick in junk email and a rise in malware being distributed via websites and could severely hamper cyber investigations. Companies that rely on this data to deliver certain security services, such as spam-filtering, could even find their business models threatened. [More…]
It’s Harder To Pay Off Foreign Governments Than The US One by Matt Kelly in Buzzfeed (yes, Buzzfeed)
As we learn that AT&T, Novartis, and other large companies paid millions of dollars to Michael Cohen’s company while he was serving as President Trump’s legal counsel, it’s worth remembering that there is a whole subset of professionals embedded in every headquarters in corporate America who work to prevent exactly this type of shady business.
These ethics and compliance officers exist to keep corporations on the right side of a strict anti-corruption law. A big portion of their work is specifically to prevent companies from paying money to intermediaries — like, say, the personal lawyer and long-time confidant of a government official — to influence government officials’ behavior in favor of the company.
But there’s a catch: The law outlined above applies to foreign governments. It’s called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the Justice Department enforces it on a regular basis. [More…]