Compliance & Ethics

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has slapped Equiniti Trust Company LLC with an $850,000 civil penalty after the company’s inadequate cybersecurity defenses led to over $6.6 million in client funds being siphoned off in a series of cyberattacks. The debacle, which unfolded over two separate incidents in 2022 and 2023, underscores the critical need for transfer agents and financial firms to fortify their cyber defenses against increasingly sophisticated threat actors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a slate of changes proposed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to overhaul audit standards and liability rules.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken decisive action against two separate cases of derivatives market misconduct, issuing over $1.2 million in total penalties.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that billionaire investor Carl C. Icahn and his company, Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP), have agreed to pay penalties to settle charges related to inadequate disclosure of financial arrangements.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a substantial £15 million fine on PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for failing to report suspicions of fraud during its 2016 audit of London Capital & Finance plc (LCF). This landmark case serves as a stark reminder of the critical role auditors play in the financial regulatory framework and offers crucial insights for compliance and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) professionals across the financial services sector.

Asphalt Specialists LLC has been slapped with a $6.5 million criminal fine for its role in orchestrating bid rigging schemes across Michigan’s asphalt industry. The hefty fine follows the company’s guilty plea earlier this year, marking a significant enforcement action in a broader crackdown on anticompetitive practices within the sector.

The Federal Reserve has launched targeted enforcement actions against financial institutions in Oklahoma and Minnesota. These interventions, far from routine regulatory measures, represent a calculated response to deeply rooted operational deficiencies that threaten the stability of regional banking ecosystems.