These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention.
CCOs Facing Retaliation by Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance
So how should a compliance or audit professional handle retaliation? When should you take your concerns to regulators, or contemplate a lawsuit against your employer? To explore those questions I spoke with Jason Zuckerman, a lawyer in Washington who represents whistleblowers in retaliation cases. You can hear the full podcast at the top of this post. Meanwhile, here are my impressions.
http://www.radicalcompliance.com/2019/02/27/podcast-ccos-facing-retaliation/
Training Compliance Officers by Justin Muscolino, Head of Compliance Training, GRC Solutions in SCCE’s The Compliance & Ethics Blog
http://complianceandethics.org/training-compliance-officers/
Think about it. Could a training program for compliance officers shift the culture of compliance? Yes, it could. By delivering a consistent message and approach you can change the culture. What are the benefits of creating a Compliance Officer program? …
Robert Kraft, The NFL and Compliance by Tom Fox in FCPA Compliance & Ethics
There are lessons from the compliance practitioner from this Kraft saga. While most would say that the charges against Kraft are of a personal nature and not a business nature, this line is becoming increasing blurred. The Jeff Bezos divorce announcement, as much as the alleged extortion claim, put a spotlight not so much on his private life but rather how much his private life could impact Amazon.com. Does character matter? Of course it does and if the background of someone who will become your CEO has indicia that their actions might negatively impact on your organization, even if it is of a personal nature, then it has to be considered.
http://fcpacompliancereport.com/2019/02/robert-kraft-nfl-compliance/
Company Settles Unregistered ICO Charges After Self-Reporting to SEC
According to the SEC’s order, Gladius conducted an ICO in late 2017, after the Commission had warned in its DAO Report of Investigation that ICOs can be securities offerings. Gladius, a Washington, DC-based company, raised approximately $12.7 million in digital assets to finance its plan to develop a network for renting spare computer bandwidth to defend against cyberattacks and enhance delivery speed. Gladius did not register its ICO under the federal securities laws, and the ICO did not qualify for an exemption from registration requirements.
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2019-15
Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege and Respecting Fifth Amendment Rights While Cooperating with the Government by John F. Savarese and Carol Miller in NYU Law’s Compliance & Enforcement
In 2018, two cases illustrated the potential hazards that can arise when companies’ efforts to cooperate with the government later provide a basis for individuals questioned during internal investigations to claim that their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination were compromised. While these cases, which we summarize below, have the greatest impact in connection with the representation of individuals in such investigations, companies responding to white collar inquiries need to keep these new developments in mind, particularly in conducting internal investigations and working in a cooperative mode with the government. Companies and their counsel must be mindful of these issues both to insure that individual employee rights are protected and to protect as much as possible the confidentiality and integrity of the company’s review.
https://wp.nyu.edu/compliance_enforcement/2019/02/20/protecting-attorney-client-privilege-and-respecting-fifth-amendment-rights-while-cooperating-with-the-government/
The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2019 in Proskauer’s The Capital Commitment
An increasingly sophisticated and active OCIE division, innovative market disruptors, a maturing credit cycle, and a philosophical change in how the private fund industry views and utilizes litigation are likely to lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and litigation risk for advisers (and their funds) in 2019. With that backdrop, we are pleased to present our Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2019.
https://www.privateequitylitigation.com/2019/02/the-top-ten-regulatory-and-litigation-risks-for-private-funds-in-2019/
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Learned to Love Form ADV by Hardin Compliance Consulting LLC
After last year’s material amendments to the Form ADV, investment advisers can breathe a sigh of relief; the SEC made no changes to the form this year. That said, completing the Form ADV remains a major data-gathering project with important regulatory implications. So, take a few deep cleansing breaths and read our tips for completing your annual update.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-76134/
