Wachtell Lipton Discusses the Growing Enforcement Focus on Cryptoassets

By Richard K. Kim, Sarah K. Eddy, Rosemary Spaziani, David M. Adlerstein and Amanda M. Lee February 23, 2022 by renholding

Underscoring that misconduct surrounding cryptoassets has become a top U.S. enforcement priority, the Department of Justice announced on February 17 the appointment of Eun Young Choi as head of a dedicated National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. The NCET’s mandate is to …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses What Mattered and What to Expect in White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement

By John F. Savarese, Ralph M. Levene, Wayne M. Carlin, David B. Anders, Sarah K. Eddy and Carol Miller February 10, 2022 by renholding

The Biden administration has just completed its first full year in office, and the talk has been tough. New leadership at DOJ, the SEC, the FTC, the CFTC, and other regulatory and law enforcement agencies have issued statements and policy …

Skadden Discusses Government Expectations for Companies’ Data-Driven Compliance Programs

By Gary DiBianco, Raquel Fox and Gretchen M. Wolf October 19, 2021 by renholding

As artificial intelligence and other data tools have proliferated, regulators and prosecutors expect companies to utilize sophisticated data analytics as part of their compliance programs. They also expect directors to take an active role, understanding and overseeing these data-driven compliance …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Alternative Reference Rates

By Gary Gensler September 21, 2021 by renholding

It’s good to be with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee to discuss the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). I’d like to thank the Committee, the New York Fed, and the Federal Reserve Board for putting this together.

…

Davis Polk Discusses FinCEN, CFTC Penalties on Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange

By Robert Cohen, Jai Massari, Daniel Stipano, Zachary Zweihorn and Kendall Howell August 19, 2021 by renholding

The CFTC and FinCEN recently announced a settlement with BitMEX for $100 million to resolve an enforcement action related to the exchange’s failure to register as a futures commission merchant and failure to establish a BSA/AML compliance program.

The Order

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Latham & Watkins Discusses New CFTC Climate Risk Unit

By Yvette D. Valdez, Douglas K. Yatter, Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies and Nicola Higgs March 31, 2021 by snehapandya

On March 17, 2021, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the establishment of an interdivisional Climate Risk Unit (CRU) to assess the risks to US financial stability posed by climate change. The CRU aims to be a catalyst for …

Clifford Chance Discusses the Cost of Commodities and Derivatives Market Enforcement Cases

By David Yeres and Brian Yin March 30, 2021 by renholding

The trend of escalating penalties for derivatives and commodities market abuse violations continued in 2020. Civil monetary penalties exceeding $100 million have become commonplace for serious corporate violations. Moreover, the DOJ routinely conducts criminal investigations in parallel with the CFTC, …

Kirkland & Ellis Discusses ESG and Climate Regulatory Developments Affecting Private Equity

By Jennie Morawetz, Alexandra Farmer, Marian Fowler, Elizabeth Dyer and Raya Treiser March 11, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

In the second half of 2020, demand for ESG-focused investments continued to accelerate, and data showing the outperformance of those investments during the COVID-19 pandemic has set the stage for robust demand to continue in 2021. In his recent letter …

Toward a Better Coordinated Regulatory Response to Cryptoassets

By Carol Goforth March 10, 2021 by renholding

On Monday, January 8, 2021, Tesla announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.[1] This purchase coincided with a dramatic increase in the price of the cryptoasset, which …

What Do the Data Reveal About (the Absence of Black) Financial Regulators?

By Chris J. Brummer February 25, 2021 by renholding

As has been remarked many times, yet still never enough, Black history is America’s history – and if anything, financial regulation proves the point. When calamity hits the stock market, Black people feel it too, if not always in terms …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses White-Collar and Regulatory Enforcement: What Mattered in 2020 and What to Expect in 2021

By John F. Savarese, Ralph M. Levene, Wayne M. Carlin, David B. Anders and Sarah K. Eddy February 10, 2021 by renholding

As we write this memorandum, a new administration is forming in Washington, with new leadership teams being nominated at DOJ, SEC, CFTC and other regulatory and law-enforcement agencies — thus prompting the question of what these changes may portend for …

Latham & Watkins Looks Back at Digital Asset Regulation in 2020

By Stephen P. Wink, Todd Beauchamp, Yvette D. Valdez, Eric S. Volkman, Adam Bruce Fovent and Deric Behar February 5, 2021 by renholding

Last year, Latham & Watkins sounded a hopeful note that 2020 would provide a clearer vision than 2019 for the regulation of digital assets in the US. In the wake of the emergence of COVID-19, priorities changed, along with forecasts …

Latham & Watkins Discusses Digital Asset Regulations of 2020

By Stephen P. Wink, Todd Beauchamp, Yvette D. Valdez, Eric Volkman, Adam Bruce Fovent and Deric Behar January 29, 2021 by Nisha Chandra

Biden and the SEC: Some Possible Agendas

By John C. Coffee, Jr. December 2, 2020 by renholding

This is the gossip season, and almost everyone has heard a rumor about who will be the next chair of the SEC. Although I was interviewed by the Biden transition team (for my views, not as a candidate), my sources …

Crypto-Enforcement Around the World

By Douglas S. Eakeley and Yuliya Guseva November 24, 2020 by renholding

The market for cryptoassets is burgeoning, as distributed ledger technology transforms capital and financial markets. With the extraordinary growth in the crypto-markets comes the need for regulation to promote efficiency, capital formation, and innovation while protecting investors. With the need …

Climate Change as Systemic Risk

By Barnali Choudhury October 7, 2020 by renholding

Governments have tended to treat climate change as primarily an issue of environmental policy. Recent climate change-related events, ranging from hurricanes to forest fires to floods, and their devastating effects on the global economy, however, are gradually alerting regulators and …

Equity Index Futures: A Mature Market with Unresolved Regulatory Challenges

By Lynn Bai October 5, 2020 by renholding

Equity index futures are futures contracts written on equity indices such as the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Deriving values from the underlying indices, index futures offer expedience to investors interested in a broad economic sector or …

Latham & Watkins Discusses CFTC No-Action Relief on IBOR Transition

By Yvette D. Valdez, Adam Bruce Fovent and J. Ashley Weeks September 18, 2020 by snehapandya

On August 31, 2020, three divisions of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued revised no-action letters providing additional relief to swap dealers (SDs), end users, and other market participants from registration requirements; business conduct standards; uncleared swap margin …

Skadden Discusses CFTC’s Final Cross-Border Swaps Rule

By Joseph Vebman, Mark D. Young, Jonathan Marcus and Daniel B. O'Connell August 14, 2020 by renholding

On July 23, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) voted 3-2 to approve a final rule (Final Rule) on the cross-border application of certain swap provisions under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).1 The Final Rule represents a …

Davis Polk Offers Financial Institutions Enforcement Update

By Greg Andres, Martine Beamon, Robert Cohen, Neil MacBride and Paul Nathanson January 28, 2020 by renholding

To assist legal and compliance officers of financial institutions, this memorandum summarizes key recent developments in criminal prosecutions and regulatory enforcement actions involving financial institutions during November and December 2019.

Among the significant matters and trends:

The last two months

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