The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Legg Mason Inc. will pay over $34 million to resolve an SEC charge that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in a scheme to bribe Libyan government officials. According to the SEC’s order, between 2004 and 2010, a former Legg Mason asset management…
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FINRA has announced that it has fined Interactive Brokers LLC (Interactive) $5.5 million for Regulation SHO violations and supervisory failures spanning a period of at least three years. To limit ongoing naked short positions, firms are required by the SEC’s Reg SHO, after completion of a short sale transaction, to deliver the shares on settlement…
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith has agreed to pay approximately $8.9 million to settle charges that it failed to disclose a conflict of interest arising out of its own business interests in deciding whether to continue to offer clients products managed by an outside third-party advisory…
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U.S. brokerage industry regulator FINRA has announced that it has fined Interactive Brokers LLC $5.5 million for Regulation SHO violations and supervisory failures spanning a period of at least three years. To limit ongoing naked short positions, firms are required by the SEC’s Reg SHO, after completion of a short sale transaction, to deliver the…
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. will pay $4.5 million to settle charges that it failed to safeguard retail investor assets from theft by its representatives. According to the SEC’s order, five Ameriprise representatives committed numerous fraudulent acts, including forging client documents, and stole more than $1 million…
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The Justice Department has announced a $4.9 billion settlement with The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS) resolving federal civil claims that RBS misled investors in the underwriting and issuing of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2008. The penalty is the largest imposed by the Justice Department for financial crisis-era misconduct at…
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ASX-listed company Gold Mountain Limited (Gold Mountain) has informed the public that it has paid a penalty of $33,000 after Australian regulator ASIC issued an infringement notice for an alleged failure by Gold Mountain to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations. ASIC has also restricted Gold Mountain from eligibility to issue a reduced-content prospectus until…
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The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has just announced that it has imposed fines amounting to almost €6.4 million for the acquisition of Sea Star Capital Plc shares, including misleading information and market abuse. The fines have been made for violation of Article 9 (1) (a) of the ‘Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation (Market…
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that two U.S.-based subsidiaries of German financial services giant Deutsche Bank AG (FRA:DBK) will pay nearly $75 million to settle charges of improper handling of “pre-released” American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). The case stems from a continuing SEC investigation into abuses involving pre-released ADRs. In proceedings against Deutsche…
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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced that Judge David Nuffer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah entered an Order for Final Judgment by Default against Tallinex Ltd., an Estonian company that was licensed to do business in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Default Order requires Tallinex to pay…
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