We originally wrote in 2014 about charges that had been brought in September of that year by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office against the French Multinational’s UK subsidiary, Alstom Network UK Ltd, and two former employees and British nationals for corruption offences (under pre-Bribery Act era legislation) relating to transport projects in India, Poland, and Tunisia.
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Sharper Teeth for Sanctions Enforcement
The current UK sanctions enforcement regime is a complicated web reflecting the requirements of UN Security Council Regulations, EU Regulations, and UK Primary and Secondary Legislation. Penalties for breaches of sanctions are generally set out in the various statutory instruments that implement particular sanctions.
The UK Government, through the Policing and Crime Bill that is…
CFPB Poised to Continue Focused Scrutiny of Indirect Auto Lenders
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a joint enforcement action with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Toyota Motor Credit Corporation (TMCC), an indirect auto lender, which, among other things, requires TMCC to pay $21.9 million in restitution to affected borrowers. Indirect auto lending is the most common type of auto…
The SFO’s ‘Seize and Sift’ Procedure
R (on the application of Colin McKenzie) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office saw an unsuccessful attempt to judicially review the SFO’s currently in-use procedure for dealing with material that it has seized, and which may contain content subject to legal professional privilege (“LPP”).
This ‘procedure’, set out in the SFO’s Operational Handbook, provides…
SEC Provides Guidance on 2016 Examination Areas of Focus
On Monday, January 11, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ (OCIE) areas of focus for 2016, which include:
- protecting retail investors and investors for retirement;
- assessing issues related to market-wide risks; and
- use of its ability to analyze data to identify and examine registrants that may
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Conducting Internal I-9 Audits – ICE and DOJ-OSC Provide Joint Guidance
A company’s I-9 file, which often goes unnoticed by all but a few HR professionals, can carry significant risk. Form I-9 files often serve as landmines for fines, penalties, and sanctions. Companies can mitigate these risks by conducting periodic Form I-9 audits.
This week, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Homeland…
Proposed Changes to Form I-9 Create New Compliance Questions
Employers take note: a new Form I-9 is in the making. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security, announced on November 24, 2015, that it is seeking public comment on the various proposed changes. The proposed changes will have far-reaching impact because all employers are required to complete and…
CFPB’s Cordray Issues Warning to Vendors
Cons
umer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray recently issued a warning to mortgage technology vendors for a lack of compliance with the CFPB’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule. Addressing the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Convention and Expo, Cordray said he was “disturbed” by vendors’ lack of effort to implement the rule, despite having…
The CFPB Strongly Scrutinizes MSAs Under RESPA
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently provided guidance discouraging mortgage industry participants from entering into marketing services arrangements (MSAs). An MSA is an agreement under which a settlement service provider, such as a real estate broker, agrees to market and promote another provider’s services − such as that of a title company − in…
CFPB Obtains Injunction Against World Law Group
T
he CFPB recently obtained preliminary injunctions against debt-reduction company World Law Group, its affiliates and its owners, thereby freezing the company’s assets and stopping all further operations pending the outcome of a CFPB lawsuit against the company. The injunctions, issued on September 2 and September 14, come on the heels of the complaint…