I just sat down with a fresh cup of coffee from Green Mountain Coffee Keurig brewer. The smell of coffee mixed with stench of compliance failures coming from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. You know there is trouble when Sam Antar, the convicted felon and criminal CFO of Crazy Eddie, has you in his sights. … Read more »
The LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010
In a clear case of voting error, LexisNexis decided to include Compliance Building in the LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010. I’m regular reader of most of those 25 blogs and think they’re wonderful. I’m happy to be included with such great content sites. For some reason, LexisNexis is not satisfied with just … Read more »
More Information on the Custody Rule
With the removal of the 15 client rule exemption from registration with the SEC, many private funds are going to have to comply the custody rule Rule 206(4)-2. Private equity firms will have the most problems trying to meets the demands of the rule. The SEC is trying to help. They updated the Staff Responses … Read more »
Lawyers and Corruption Laws
In April 2010, the International Bar Association, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, launched the Anti-Corruption Strategy for the Legal Profession. The project is focusing on the role lawyers play in fighting corruption in international business transactions. Nearly half of all respondents recognized corruption to … Read more »
Don’t Lie to the Feds When Caught for Insider Trading
The “classical theory” of insider trading targets “a corporate insider’s breach of duty to shareholders with whom the insider transacts[, and the] misappropriation theory outlaws trading on the basis of nonpublic information by a corporate ‘outsider’ in breach of a duty owed not to a trading party, but to the source of the information.” See … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for October 22
Here are some recent compliance related stories: Trusted Transactions, or Trusted Relationships? by Charles H. Green in Trust Matters Much of the public dialogue today confuses these two distinctions. Is it Congress that people don’t trust? Or is it members of Congress who themselves are considered untrustworthy? To the average voter, it’s a distinction without … Read more »
The International View on US Anti-Bribery Efforts
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s report on U.S. anti-bribery efforts released their Phase 3 Report on the United States. In its report, the Working Group commended the United States for its engagement with the private sector, substantial enforcement, and commitment from the highest levels of the U.S. Government. In addition to the recommendation … Read more »
SEC Complaint Reads Like a List of Things Not to Do
SEC complaints usually contain great stories about what you should not to do. A recent case involving PEF Advisors caught my eye. The SEC claimed that hedge fund managers Paul Mannion, and Andrew Reckles, and their investment advisory company PEF Advisors misappropriated investor cash and securities by using the “side pockets” in 2005. When used … Read more »
The Foreclosure Mess and Compliance
Why is the foreclosure machinery of our nation’s largest banks suddenly grinding to a halt? The “Produce the Note” movement, encouraging consumers to challenge the lender in foreclosure and make them produce the note. It’s not about proving you are current on your mortgage. It’s about attacking a structural flaw to stay rent and mortgage … Read more »
California’s New Placement Agent Law
California has become the latest state to regulate the use of placement agents who help investment managers secure government pension fund money. (Or is that placement agents who help government pension fund money find suitable investment managers?) California Assembly Bill 1743 was backed by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the state treasurer and the … Read more »