March 2021 Regulatory Updates

Regulatory Actions and Updates from Around the Globe
Enforcement Highlights – March 2021
United States:
- The SEC charged the founder of San Francisco-based biotech company uBiome for defrauding investors out of USD $60 million with false claims of the company’s successful business model and track record.
- The SEC charged 7 individuals and tech company Airborne Wireless Network with running a fraudulent fundraising scheme that generated nearly USD $45 million.
- The SEC charged private investor George Heckler for running a decade-long scheme defrauding investors of over USD $90 million through two private hedge funds.
- The SEC charged Seth P. Levine, owner of real estate firm Norse Holdings, LLC, that defrauding at least 60 people out of millions based on false and misleading claims about real estate investments.
- The SEC took action against California-based stock trader Andrew L. Fassari (known as @OCMillionaire on Twitter) for a $900K fraudulent Twitter scheme for a now-defunct cannabis company.
United Kingdom:
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined over £530,000 24 Hour Trading Academy for giving unauthorized trading advice via Whatsapp to consumers.
- The FCA fined experienced trader Mr. Adrian Geoffrey Horn £52,500 for executing trades with himself (“wash trading”) and prohibited him from participating in regulated activities.
Hong Kong:
- The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong fined Yardley Securities Limited $5 million for failing to comply with AML/CFT regulatory requirements while handling third-party fund transfers.
- SFC reprimanded and fined Sino-Rich Securities & Futures Limited $7.2 million for failures in complying with AML/CFT regulatory requirements when handling cash deposits and third-party fund transfers.
learn more
Is your AML compliance too expensive, time-consuming, or ineffective?
iComply enables financial services providers to reduce costs, risk, and complexity and improve staff capacity, effectiveness, and customer experience.
Request a demo today.
Legal Entity Management, Streamlined: Meet iComplyKYC
Staying on top of corporate governance regulations can be one of the most time-consuming and costly aspects of running a business. However, this is essential to ensure your operations are compliant with all jurisdictional standards and run as smoothly as possible....
Identify and Protect: Digital Identity Verification with iComply
In a world increasingly reliant on mobile devices, tablets, and computers to navigate everyday life and business, identity verification is an invaluable asset for businesses when it comes to preventing fraud, money laundering, and terrorist funding. As cyber-crime...
Enhanced Due Diligence: When KYC and Customer Due Diligence Aren’t Enough
With recent advances in technology —such as facial recognition, biometrics screening, and natural language processing—making financial crimes like fraud and money laundering increasingly more elusive to detect, organizations within the finance, banking, and securities...