News
Signed into Law, SEC Whistleblower Program Faces Multiple Hurdles
By Colby Adams
printThe effect of a planned whistleblower program expected to have an impact on anti-money laundering compliance departments will likely be mitigated by low funding and other issues, say consultants. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will vote Wednesday on proposed rules governing reward payments under a new whistleblower initiative, part of the broad Dodd-Frank financial reform passed into law in July. The program is intended to reward employees of publicly traded companies that disclose regulatory violations leading to fines of $1 million or greater. Behind the scenes, some Republican lawmakers in the House are seeking to scale back costs associated...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
I've always found it offensive when tabloids use terms like "rat" or "squealer" to describe the actions of those who report or testify about criminal behavior. It's no less offensive when one of the terms is used in defense of attorney-client privilege.
The Internal Revenue Service disclosed final rules set for publication next week that will clarify how and when informants can collect rewards for identifying tax cheats, but not money launderers.
A recent regulatory penalty citing a Brown Brothers Harriman executive made a compliance director at Bank of America wonder about his future personal liability, attendees of a business forum heard Tuesday.
Internet portals that facilitate crowd-sourced fundraising will need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to comply with anti-money laundering rules proposed by the U.S. regulator of broker-dealers, say industry consultants.
U.S. financial institutions are taking a closer look at accounts held for stock brokers managing money on behalf of multiple parties in the wake of governmental warnings and sanctions-related settlements.
Changes to how and how often securities firms report suspicious activity are helping to clarify the scope of a long-familiar financial crime: microcap fraud.
U.S. law enforcement officials and regulators have queried the nation's financial intelligence unit about securities settlements that use the world's top financial messaging platform, according to the agency's director.
A New York brokerage firm violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to report suspicious activity related to a scheme to bilk third-party investors, securities regulators said Tuesday.
Dozens of would-be informants from banks have contacted attorneys following the disclosure Tuesday that a former UBS AG banker received $104 million for reporting his institution's role in a tax evasion scheme.
A U.S. lawmaker is questioning an IRS decision not to reward whistleblowers who disclose potential violations of Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements tied to accounts held at foreign financial institutions.
Bank Secrecy Act compliance officers should proactively shield themselves from both budget cuts and potential retaliation for disclosing regulatory violations, according to a former OCC attorney.
Allegations that the nation's securities regulator has destroyed records detailing evidence in 18,000 investigations could deter would-be whistleblowers from turning to the agency, say lawmakers and compliance professionals.
In the wake of the recession, compliance departments are grappling with implementing more regulations with fewer resources, a former bank regulator says.
The largest nongovernmental regulator of U.S. securities firms has expelled a Westlake Village, CA-based company for failing to implement anti-money laundering controls, the organization said Monday.
U.S. and Canadian banks are among the over 260 companies asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to reconsider a new federal whistleblower program they say will undermine internal reporting controls.
A provision in the Senate's proposed financial overhaul bill could incentivize more anti-money laundering compliance officers to blow the whistle on any illegal activities of their employers in exchange for large payouts.
The country's largest independent securities regulator fined Scottrade $600,000 Monday for alleged deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program, including the company's over reliance on a manual transaction auditing system.
Penalties issued by the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency for anti-money laundering violations are on course to outnumber similar fines levied by the self-regulatory organization in 2008, according to agency data.
Hedge fund manager Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty Thursday to bilking investors out of $65 billion and laundering the money as part of a Ponzi scheme that dwarfed similar swindles.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined a Michigan brokerage firm $225,000 for securities violations and poor anti-money laundering controls, the second such enforcement action against a broker this year.