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Chris Conte

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On February 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement with KT Corporation (KT Corp.), South Korea’s largest comprehensive telecommunications operator, for alleged violations (neither admitted nor denied by the company) of the books and records and internal accounting control provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).[1]

This matter, the first FCPA corporate settlement in 2022, is of interest for several reasons:Continue Reading In First FCPA Corporate Matter for 2022, SEC Ties Important Aspects of the Resolution to the Company’s Cooperation – and Other Key Takeaways

Steptoe’s recent quarterly Investigations & Enforcement webinar, held on May 12, included a discussion on Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement trends. In this blog post we summarize the SEC and CFTC enforcement trends, including developments related to insider trading, Regulation FD, climate and ESG, whistleblowers and other trends. For those who missed the webinar, click here to access the recording.
Continue Reading Quarterly Investigations and Enforcement Webinar Recap – SEC and CFTC Enforcement

A court in the Southern District of New York recently issued a noteworthy opinion in addressing a discovery dispute concerning communications between a non-party witness at the center of the SEC’s allegations and her attorneys, to whom she provided false information expecting they would pass it along to the SEC. In denying defendants’ request to examine the witness’s attorneys on these issues, the court held that although certain communications were no longer privileged because the witness waived the privilege and the crime-fraud exception applied, it would limit the extent to which the defendant could examine the attorneys on those communications on the basis of the proportionality requirement under Rule 26. The opinion serves as an apt reminder to defense counsel seeking exculpatory information being withheld as privileged that Rule 26’s proportionality requirement may pose an additional hoop through which to jump, even where arguments regarding the crime-fraud exception and waiver are successful.
Continue Reading Court Invokes Rule 26 Proportionality Requirement as Added Barrier to Discovery in SEC Action

Following a recent rise, the price of Bitcoin once again exceeds $10,000, a key resistance level which, if sustained, could see it rising even further. Interest in cryptocurrencies is, according to some observers, likely to rise as measures taken by Central Banks to combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic result in the devaluing of their own fiat currencies, and while Central Banks themselves experiment with digital currencies. The Libra Association continues to work on Libra, a token designed to be used on Facebook. Rumors swirl of imminent support by the global payments giant PayPal for cryptocurrencies, supported by recent job listings for cryptocurrency engineers. Whilst it might not yet have returned to the levels of mania seen during 2017-2018, cryptocurrency appears likely to continue to grow in both maturity and usage. Such a rise will inevitably be marked with a corresponding increase in the debate over the extent of regulation needed in the area. Should it be a case of caveat emptor or should government regulators take greater steps to introduce guard rails in this area?
Continue Reading Sheriffs of the Wild West? Regulators will Likely Continue Debating the Necessity of Greater Cryptoasset Regulation

There have been two moves in SEC leadership over the last week that warrant attention.

First, last week, the SEC announced that Division of Enforcement Co-Director Steven Peikin will leave the agency at the end of this week. Stephanie Avakian, who has served alongside Mr. Peikin as Co-Director, will remain Director upon Mr. Peikin’s departure.

During his three years of service as Co-Director, Mr. Peikin, together with Avakian, established the agency’s Cyber Unit, increased retail investor protections, and recently created the Coronavirus Steering Committee to combat COVID-related fraud.Continue Reading SEC Leadership Changes Are Afoot

On July 3, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the second edition of the Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the 2020 Guide), the first full-scope overhaul of the Resource Guide since its issuance in 2012. As with the original edition, the 2020 Guide…

On June 22, the US Supreme Court weighed in on a question it explicitly left open in Kokesh v. SEC – whether, and to what extent, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a civil enforcement action may seek “disgorgement” as “equitable relief that may be appropriate or necessary for the benefit of investors” under…