Sky Blog
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:
In a year of robust M&A activity, the U.S. antitrust agencies investigated and challenged transactions in many sectors of the economy. The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice initiated court challenges to block four proposed transactions and …
As empirical evidence of labor-market concentration mounts, academics and policymakers advance proposals to challenge or reverse its effects on workers’ wages and labor-market options. Prominent among these is more aggressive review of the labor-market effects of mergers by the Department …
On October 8, 2019, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Government”) issued new guidance for federal prosecutors to follow when corporations claim they are unable to pay a criminal fine or monetary penalty. For …
After letting the option go unused for more than 20 years, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice recently announced it would use arbitration to settle its challenge of the proposed merger of two aluminum producers. In a press …
Companies that face non-public government investigations frequently confront challenging questions regarding whether and when to disclose the existence of the investigation, how much to disclose, and any duty to update the disclosure as the investigation proceeds. On the one hand, …
I am honored to be here representing the dedicated men and women of the Department of Justice. Like the SEC’s Enforcement staff, many of our prosecutors are tasked with investigating financial fraud and corporate crime. They are assigned to the
On September 16, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released the agencies’ 41st Annual Hart-Scott-Rodino Report, which summarizes FTC and DOJ actions conducted under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements …
Antitrust treatment of no-poach agreements continues to evolve as private cases progress, state attorneys general ramp up enforcement efforts and federal regulators further contemplate the legality of no-poach agreements.
Over the past two years, private plaintiffs have filed class action …
On July 30, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed civil contempt orders by the D.C. District Court against three Chinese banks for their failure to produce documents in response to U.S. government subpoenas relating …
On August 6, the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) published new guidance on the steps companies should take in order to receive cooperation credit in the SFO’s charging decisions. The document, titled “Corporate Co-operation Guidance” (the “SFO Guidance”),[1]…
In an effort to incentivize investment in robust antitrust compliance programs, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced on July 11, 2019 that companies may now receive credit at charging and sentencing for effective antitrust compliance …
Corporate leaders may wish to revisit the important yet sensitive topic of reporting relationships in compliance programs following the release of new guidance from the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.
That guidance, entitled Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs[1], …
On April 30, 2019, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “the Department”) announced updated guidance for the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“the Guidance”) in charging and resolving criminal cases.[1] Assistant Attorney …
Since the fall of 2016, federal, state, and private enforcers have sharpened their focus on allegedly anticompetitive restrictions in labor markets: so-called “no-poach” and wage-fixing agreements. This remains a hotly debated topic, with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the …
On March 6, 2019, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Director of Enforcement James McDonald announced an initiative to pursue foreign corrupt practices that constitute violations of the Commodities Exchange Act (“CEA”), noting that the Enforcement Division already has open investigations …
In the last decade, private equity sponsors increasingly have pursued “strategic” deals — transactions combining two or more competitors. The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have actively enforced the antitrust merger laws …
On November 15, 2018, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim delivered remarks at the American Bar Association Antitrust Section Fall Forum in which he discussed three recent settlements of ongoing civil and criminal investigations and highlighted efforts by the Antitrust Division …
Financial misconduct can lead to significant financial and reputational penalties for a firm and its managers, including hefty fines from regulators and steep drops in stock price. In fact, recent research finds that firms accused of fraud lose an average …