Archive

The FinCEN Files Prove We Need an Anti-Money-Laundering Whistleblower Program

Posted 09/25/20

The FinCEN Files. It sounds ominous, and recalls the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and others. Like those earlier stories, the FinCEN Files expose powerful players, including a large number of highly regulated banking giants.

December 2020 Update: New NDAA Monday Laundering Whistleblower Reward Provisions

The FinCEN Files, published by the International Consortium of Investigation Journalists and BuzzFeed News, document over 200,000 suspicious financial transactions via documents leaked...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

SEC Again Postpones Hearing on Controversial Whistleblower Award Rule Amendments

Posted 09/11/20

For the second time, the SEC pulled the plug on hearings to consider amendments to some key rules affecting its whistleblower reward program. Just a day before hearings scheduled for September 2, 2020, the SEC canceled them, indicating only that they would be rescheduled for a future date. The Commission had done the same thing in fall 2019, abandoning hearings at the last minute. There are many potential...

Tagged in: FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Securities Fraud, Whistleblower Rewards,

Partner Mary Inman discusses whistleblowing, blackballing and the role of compliance in ComplianceLine webinar "Whistleblowing: Defending the Accuser and the Accused"

Posted 09/4/20

Male standing with their silhouette as a whistle

On 25 August 2020, Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman joined Charlie Middleton, an international tax whistleblower, and Roy Snell, co-founder of HCCA and SCCE, on a panel moderated by Nick Gallo, CEO of ComplianceLine, during a webinar entitled “Whistleblowing: Defending the Accuser and the Accused,” which discussed the challenges that reporting of wrongdoings poses for whistleblowers and companies. The...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Eligibility,

Australia’s Unfinished Whistleblower Business

Posted 08/21/20

It hasn’t been a great week for Australian whistleblowers. Two days ago, the Guardian revealed that the Australian Home Affairs Department had inadvertently revealed the identity of a whistleblower by mistakenly sending confidential written materials to another, unrelated complainant’s email address. The Department apologized for the “blunder,” which is a criminal offense in Australia. A week ago,...

Tagged in: Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Eligibility,

The FCPA’s Accounting Provisions Get a Fresh Look from the SEC

Posted 08/13/20

In the New York Law Journal this week, we published an article discussing a heartening trend in the SEC’s enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that has yielded some of the largest SEC fines and recoveries: an increased willingness to ground enforcement actions in the accounting provisions of the FCPA. The FCPA broadly prohibits two different kinds of conduct. First, businesses may not bribe...

Tagged in: FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

CFTC Whistleblower Hot Streak Continues with $9 Million Award

Posted 07/28/20

a silver whistle on top of a stack of cash

This week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a new whistleblower award of approximately $9 million, one of the five largest awards ever paid by the agency. It is the latest in a wave of awards—four over the last three months, all over $1 million—demonstrating the CFTC’s strong commitment to its whistleblowers. These awards make good on CFTC Enforcement Director James McDonald’s...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Protection Laws, Whistleblower Rewards,

Constantine Cannon’s London Office Provides Response to Ireland’s Request for Consultation on the Transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive

Posted 07/24/20

Members of the Constantine Cannon London whistleblower team, Mary Inman, Carolina González, and Alicja Dijakiewicz-Kocon, recently prepared and submitted a response to the Irish government’s request for public consultation on the transposition of the new EU Whistleblowing Directive. The Directive, which must be transposed into the national laws of EU Member States by 2021, establishes a common minimum standard for...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, Legislation and Regulation News,

Catch of the Week: Novartis Pays $729 Million to Settle Two Kickback Cases on Heels of $345 Million Foreign Bribery Settlement

Posted 07/2/20

This week and last, pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis reached three settlements involving very different forms of unlawful kickbacks and bribes. First, this week the company agreed to pay a total of $678 million to resolve a New York case alleging that it paid inflated “speaking fees” and provided other incentives to doctors to induce them to prescribe Novartis drugs. Second, Novartis will pay $51.25...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

Investigative Journalists Face Increasing Threats from Corrupt Regimes

Posted 06/26/20

silhouette of male with arms crossed against a gray photo backdrop

Journalists around the globe are facing increasingly serious threats to their safety and freedom as they report stories that do not please corrupt governments. Most recently, Maria Ressa—a globally renowned investigative journalist from the Philippines—was found guilty last week for what is, by all accounts, a trumped-up charge of “cyber libel” based on a law that did not even exist at the time of the...

Tagged in: Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers,

A Win-Win Solution: Italy Proposes a Legislative Hack for COVID-Related Whistleblowers

Posted 06/12/20

As part of Constantine Cannon’s participation in the Financial Times Global Legal Hackathon, Partner Mary Inman collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to develop a hack to empower and protect COVID19 whistleblowers in Italy. Contributors include: Nicoletta Parisi, a professor of International Law at Universita degli Studi di Catania; Priscilla Robledo, a former IP attorney who now works as a campaigner on behalf...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, COVID-19, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, Whistleblower Protection Laws,

Contact

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

The FinCEN Files Prove We Need an Anti-Money-Laundering Whistleblower Program

SEC Again Postpones Hearing on Controversial Whistleblower Award Rule Amendments

Partner Mary Inman discusses whistleblowing, blackballing and the role of compliance in ComplianceLine webinar "Whistleblowing: Defending the Accuser and the Accused"

Australia’s Unfinished Whistleblower Business

The FCPA’s Accounting Provisions Get a Fresh Look from the SEC

CFTC Whistleblower Hot Streak Continues with $9 Million Award

Constantine Cannon’s London Office Provides Response to Ireland’s Request for Consultation on the Transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive

Catch of the Week: Novartis Pays $729 Million to Settle Two Kickback Cases on Heels of $345 Million Foreign Bribery Settlement

Investigative Journalists Face Increasing Threats from Corrupt Regimes

A Win-Win Solution: Italy Proposes a Legislative Hack for COVID-Related Whistleblowers

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

Sign up for: