A vibrant energy is now being unleashed in Colombia, and the generational underpinnings just might spell promise for anti-corruption reform. There are two dynamics at play. One is top-down; the other, bottom-up.
The Government as Shareholder: Governance When Uncle Sam Takes Over
September 13, 2010
By Jason B. Meyer — Chair of the Ethics, Compliance, and Corporate Governance Committee of the New Jersey Corporate Counsel Association
What does it mean to a company, its governance, and its legal and compliance teams, when the government becomes a major shareholder? This article will review this question in theory – what could it mean to have Uncle Sam as a big shareholder – as well as in immediate practice, based on what the Obama Administration has said it will do as a shareholder.
Water Cooler Links for June 23rd, 2010
June 23, 2010
Among today’s Water Cooler stories: Reputations don’t return when prosecutors drop charges; President Obama gets tough on insurers, releases new regs; and Intel close to FTC settlement.
Why Wall Street Reform Is Doomed to Fail – A Case in Point
April 21, 2010
According to Bill Singer, the government can, “Pass all the new laws that you want. Amend as many old laws as you wish. It simply will not matter.”
GE Settles Accounting Fraud Charges with SEC for $50 Million
August 5, 2009
Yesterday it was announced that GE would be paying a $50 settlement fine to the SEC in response to a civil suit filed by the agency against the company for accounting fraud. GE is paying the fine, but without admitting guilt nor denying the allegations.
The New SEC Whistleblower Proposal: Make It Fair, Make It Pay, and They Will Come
August 3, 2009
By Dan Hurson – Senior Partner in the Hurson Law Firm, LLP.
Buried deep within the President’s historic new proposals to oversee and regulate the financial markets (“Financial Regulatory Reform, A New Foundation”) is the outline of a provision that garnered no headlines but might well become the most effective new anti-fraud regulation of all: rewarding whistleblowers who disclose fraud cases to the SEC. It is surely the only part of the massive proposal that gives insiders with knowledge of wrongdoing a chance to speak up against and even profit from the types of financial and securities fraud that has infected our financial markets in recent years.
This may be the beginning of the golden age of whistleblowing. Protecting them and making their jobs easier is getting increased attention in Congress. While federal qui tam actions initiated by whistleblowers who report fraud against the government have been around for many years, the concept of rewarding those who report on securities fraud (other than insider trading) is new, and revolutionary.
