News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Until now, compliance officers have stayed mostly under the government radar. They aren’t regulated or licensed, tested or monitored. Will that change? And if so, what might the next stage of life look like for the compliance profession?… Continue Reading
Remote work isn’t so temporary after all, as businesses think about new work-from-home arrangements amid the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerating an already emerging trend. But rules from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) haven’t always contemplated remote working and meeting practices, at least not explicitly.… Continue Reading
The streak of expense-claim abuses that reportedly caused some 200 employees to lose their jobs at Fidelity Investments may be familiar to the many firms that offer partial reimbursement for expenses such as computers and accessories or fitness memberships and equipment.… Continue Reading
The SEC Wednesday charged a chief compliance officer and two broker dealers with failing to file Suspicious Activity Reports after red flags came up for the sale of 12.5 billion shares of penny stocks.… Continue Reading
The SEC alleged Wednesday that two former anti-money laundering compliance officers for a New York broker dealer aided and abetted their firm’s AML violations.
One of the compliance officers settled the SEC charges.… Continue Reading
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) warned about con artists posing as FINRA to make phony investment pitches.
Scammers are using FINRA’s name and logo in letters that say FINRA is guaranteeing investments.… Continue Reading
Instead of completing compliance training modules on their own, three Credit Suisse bankers had their administrative assistants do the work for them.
The admins logged in with their boss’s credentials and completed two modules — “Understanding Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, Sanctions and Corruption” and “Global Records Management.”… Continue Reading
For nearly five years Citigroup Inc. sent retail customers the wrong research ratings on more than 1,800 stocks, causing many to buy and hold shares they never would have owned.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA fined Citigroup $5.5 million and ordered it to pay at least $6 million in compensation to retail customers for the ratings errors.… Continue Reading
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Raymond James $2 million for using a system that didn’t properly monitor or review employee emails.
From late 2007 to September 2017, Raymond James’ email review system was “flawed in significant respects,” FINRA said.… Continue Reading
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority barred a New York-based broker for churning the account of a blind elderly widow and recommending unsuitable investments.
Hank Mark Werner of Northport, New York was also ordered to pay more than $155,000 in restitution to the widow and penalized $80,000.… Continue Reading
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC $1.25 million for failing to conduct proper background checks on 8,600 new employees.
FINRA — Wall Street’s independent regulator — said the due diligence failures started in 2009 and continued until May this year.… Continue Reading
Wall Street’s independent regulator banned a former Goldman Sachs banker linked to a Malaysia sovereign wealth fund that was allegedly looted, after he said he wouldn’t cooperate with the regulator’s investigation.… Continue Reading