On December 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). Enacted as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the CTA requires certain legal entities to report beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) to the U.S. Department of
Subject to Inquiry Blogs
Blog Authors
Latest from Subject to Inquiry
Deadline to Determine Corporate Transparency Act Reporting Obligations Fast Approaching
As 2024 comes to a close, companies created prior to January 1, 2024 should be mindful of the year-end deadline to analyze whether they must report Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) pursuant to the reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). Companies should take…
Crypto.com Sues the SEC in Texas – Arguments and Implications for the Cryptocurrency Industry
On October 8, 2024, Crypto.com filed a civil complaint against the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and each of its Commissioners in the Eastern District of Texas seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Crypto.com sued the SEC after the regulator sent it a Wells notice, indicating the Division of Enforcement intended to recommend an enforcement action…
AI Risk and Whistleblower Protection Spotlighted in DOJ’s Revised Corporate Compliance Guidance
On September 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) updated its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP) guidance.
The ECCP provides prosecutors with questions and factors to consider when assessing a company’s compliance program. Prosecutors use the guidance to assist in making decisions about whether to charge a company and how to resolve…
“Call Us Before We Call You”: DOJ’s New Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program
On September 17, 2024, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri stressed the intense focus placed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department) on incentivizing companies to maintain healthy corporate compliance programs – and highlighted key aspects of the Department’s newest enforcement tool. Speaking at the NYU School of Law’s Program on Corporate…
Supreme Court Holds That SEC Must Seek Civil Penalties in Federal Court
In SEC v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859, 603 U.S. __ (2024), the Supreme Court held that the Seventh Amendment prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) from seeking civil penalties in certain enforcement actions when the Commission chooses to proceed in-house before its own administrative law judges (ALJs), rather than in federal court. In…
OFAC Enforcement Action Targets Non-U.S. Business Purchasing Services From North Korean Firm
On June 26, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against an Italian animation company that violated OFAC’s sanctions on North Korea. The enforcement action highlights several key propositions regarding sanctions compliance: (1) non-U.S. businesses cannot ignore U.S. sanctions if they are transacting through the U.S. or using…
Disruptive Technology Strike Force Announces Its First Declination to Prosecute Under the National Security Division’s Voluntary Self-Disclosure Program
On May 22, 2024, the Department of Justice’s National Security Division (“NSD”) announced its first declination of prosecution for a company under the voluntary self-disclosure program established by the National Security Division Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations (“NSD Enforcement Policy”). An individual who worked for a United States-based biochemical company, along with his co-conspirator, each…
Highlights from the 2024 SIFMA Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference on the Corporate Transparency Act
On May 6, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Director Andrea Gacki, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Division Steve Hsieh, Acting Associate Director of the Policy Division James Martinelli, and other key industry leaders, convened at SIFMA’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes conference in New York to discuss, among other things, FinCEN’s priorities for…
CFPB: For-Profit School Misrepresented ISAs, Made False Claims About Grads’ Employment Rates
On April 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau entered an order against a for-profit vocational school and its CEO for mischaracterizing the school’s income-share agreements (ISAs) and misrepresenting its graduates’ employment rates. The CFPB said the school drove students to finance their training programs with promises of high graduate employability. To finance students’ education,…