Among the risks inherent in a merger or an acquisition, few bring the financial and reputational consequences of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Background The FCPA prohibits the offer, promise, authorization, or payment of money or anything of value, either directly or indirectly, to a foreign official, private individual, or entity, to obtain or retain government business. Enacted in 1977 in response to incidents of American companies bribing foreign officials to obtain lucrative government contracts, its enforcement is now among the most prominent white collar enforcement t ..read more

Bank mergers and acquisitions are becoming a regular part of life in the banking industry, especially for smaller and medium-sized organizations. They provide significant opportunities for institutions to expand their customer base, enhance capital for lending and investments, and grow geographically to capture new customers and new products. But they can also disrupt existing compliance programs and controls. For example, the acquiring institution must set aside sufficient resources to identify and address potential compliance gaps before the merger is completed to avoid costly enforcements f ..read more

As the Russia – Ukraine war rages on, one outcome so far is clear:  the Western nations remain aligned and united to confront Russian aggression. The West’s synchronized, roll-out of economic and trade sanctions against Russia since February 2022 combined with their limited military support, demonstrate that the West’s tight, global coordination helps Ukraine courageously defend its nation and citizens. Importantly, coordinated alignment also protects the homeland and critical infrastructure of each Western nation, including that of the United States. Banks and financial institutions are ..read more

Regulatory trends and high-profile investigations suggest that law firms should conduct enhanced due diligence background checks on all potential clients as part of standard risk management and compliance protocols.   The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed anti-money laundering legislation that would require law firms (in addition to accountancies, payment service providers, and trust companies) to report suspicious transactions by clients, as banks already must do.  Despite industry push back and arguments by some that the affirmative reporting obligations would negatively imp ..read more

When the tide goes out, as it appears to be doing now with the market down 20% percent from its highs in January, bad actors will be left exposed for everyone to see. Simply put, as the market drops those companies hiding behind lofty share prices and astronomical crypto values will be scrutinized to determine if financial fraud and white-collar crime was behind this activity. The Department of Justice recently brought two significant, complex cases that illustrate this point when markets fall.  On May 17, 2022, the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a case ..read more

In 2022, companies are likely to see an increase in white collar and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. Here are just a few reasons why this is likely to happen. First, in the late fall, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco indicated that the Justice Department would bring a renewed focus on corporate crime and that the Department was “going to find ways to surge resources” to its prosecutors. In January, another senior Justice Department official, Nicholas McQuaid, said at a forum on the FCPA that the Department has “a very robust pipeline” of FCPA cases. Second, the Antitrust ..read more

The regulatory landscape for fintechs is continually evolving. It is critical that compliance officers stay on top of what is going on in the industry to ensure they make the best decisions and take proactive measures in alignment with current regulations. The recent OFAC settlement with Payoneer, Inc. for apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs is an excellent case study for compliance officers with fintechs and payment processors to heed when enhancing their compliance programs. For those not familiar with the matter, Payoneer paid a more than $1.4 million monetary penalty to sett ..read more

In its recently issued Sanctions Systems Annual Report FY 2020, the World Bank Group (WBG) confirmed its commitment to investigate and sanction corruption and fraud occurring in bank-financed projects, despite the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The report, co-authored by the Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), the Office of Suspension and Debarment (OSD), and the Sanctions Board, revealed little coronavirus-related slowdown in the WBG’s enforcement activities.  To the contrary, the bank’s in-house investigatory teams initiated roughly the same number of sanctions ca ..read more

In the Summer of 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) became the first state banking regulator to issue a stand-alone virtual currency regulatory framework (23 NYCRR Part 200).  Prior to the creation of this virtual currency license, also known as the “Bitlicense,” institutions followed different paths to seek approval from the DFS for their crypto-related activities involving New York or New York residents.  Some institutions, like Paxos Trust Company, LLC (f/k/a itBit Trust Company, LLC) and Gemini Trust Company, LLC, sought and received limited purpose ..read more

The New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) recently sanctioned Deutsche Bank (“DB”) $150 million for BSA/AML deficiencies.  According to the regulator’s factual findings, the compliance failures arose in connection with the bank’s private wealth relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and correspondent banking relationships with Danske Bank Estonia (“Danske Estonia”) and FBME Bank (“FBME”), both located in Eastern Europe. This latest enforcement action against DB follows several others issued against the bank by NYDFS since 2015, including for improper conduct arising from LIBOR m ..read more