Compliance & Ethics

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a hefty penalty of $215,988,868 against GVA Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. The firm is being held accountable for knowingly managing investments linked to Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian oligarch already under sanctions, and for failing to respond properly to an OFAC subpoena. This is a case that underscores the immense risks involved when gatekeepers like venture capital firms fail to uphold sanctions compliance.

Four individuals, including a U.S. government official and three business executives, have admitted their roles in a decade-long bribery and fraud scheme that cost American taxpayers more than $550 million. The guilty pleas mark the end of an extensive investigation into corruption within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where bribery was used to bypass the fair contracting process, all in the name of personal gain.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is often seen as a necessary but burdensome overhead, essential for meeting regulatory demands but rarely viewed as a driver of business value. But what if that perception is holding your organization back? In a new guide titled From Overhead to Advantage: Reframing GRC Investment, we explore how GRC can shift from a passive function into a proactive strategic asset that not only ensures compliance but also accelerates growth and strengthens business resilience.

When you’re seeking help for substance use disorder, the last thing you need is to be misled. But that’s exactly what Evoke Wellness, a Florida-based treatment clinic, was accused of doing in a deceptive advertising scheme that spanned Google search ads and telemarketing.

Americas Securities has reached a settlement with FINRA after admitting to multiple rule violations related to inaccurate trade reporting and supervisory failures. Under the terms of the settlement, the firm has agreed to pay a $275,000 fine and accept a censure.

The European Commission is once again raising the stakes in the fight against financial crime by updating its list of high-risk countries. These jurisdictions, which exhibit significant gaps in their anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) frameworks, will now face increased scrutiny from EU financial institutions.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) just announced that it will resume its foreign-bribery investigations, but with a narrowed focus aimed at protecting American businesses' ability to compete on the global stage and safeguarding national security. This decision follows a four-month review prompted by an executive order from President Trump, which had paused such investigations earlier this year.