February 2021 Regulatory Updates
Regulatory Actions and Updates from Around the Globe
Enforcement Highlights – February 2021
United States:
- The U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) suspended trading in the securities of 15 companies due to questionable trading and social media activity targeted at artificially inflating their stock price.
- The SEC charged an Oklahoma-based gas exploration and production company, Gulfport Energy Corporation, and its former CEO Moore, for failing to properly disclose executive perks and related person transactions.
- The SEC charged three individuals with running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised over $1.7 billion from 17,000 retail investors through securities issued by a New York-based registered investment adviser GPB Capital.
- FINRA fined Atlanta-based investment firm Triad Advisors $200,000 over findings that it neglected to follow proper compliance procedures when switching customers’ investments between funds.
- The SEC’s initial fine of $5 million on two Ukrainian traders and their firm for defrauding investors was increased to $7.5 million in February 2021 by a U.S. Supreme Court judge.
- OFAC fined BitPay, Inc., a digital currency company based in Georgia, more than $500,000 for over 2,100 international sanctions violations from multiple digital currency transactions.
United Kingdom:
- FCA began criminal proceedings against two brothers, former Goldman Sachs and Clifford Chance employees, for fraud by false representation and insider trading.
Hong Kong:
- The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) reprimanded Brilliance Asset Management Limited and fined it $3.15M over failures to ensure short position reports (SPRs) for four collective investment schemes.
- SFC prohibited 13 brokers from dealing with assets held in 54 trading accounts related to a suspected social media ramp-and-dump scam involving the manipulation of the market
Regulatory Updates
Singapore:
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently published its Technology Risk Management Guidelines with a focus on establishing robust governance to ensure cyber resilience and sound technology risk practices for those companies operating both inside and outside of Singapore.
Upcoming Events:
The New Consumer: How to Ensure Integrity
in the Virtual Economy
Join our upcoming fireside event as we discuss the rise of virtual marketplaces as the new eCommerce, and how every player in these marketplaces – from consumers to payment processors – can establish a vibrant digital ecosystem built on integrity and accountability.
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.
The Impact of Neobanks on AML and KYC Compliance: Ensuring Security in a Decentralized Era
As global financial institutions collectively face the reality of managing a consumer base that has aggressively adopted an increasingly digital presence, traditional banks are also facing a rising challenge in competing against a rapidly decentralizing model of...
Implementing Client Due Diligence in Credit Unions: Protecting Members and Ensuring Compliance
The evolving financial and political climate of 2023 and a post-pandemic market have left financial institutions and credit unions facing unique challenges as they navigate the new and growing risks associated with conducting business in an increasingly digital world....
Safeguarding Society: How Customer Due Diligence Helps Prevent Global Crime
With the economy facing increasingly challenging times and banking institutions having to contend with a sharp increase in digital users over the past few years, the threat of cybercrime, specifically in the financial sector, is at an all-time high. At its core, the...