Category Archives: !Jurisdiction

Alerts, Canada, Capital Markets Fraud & Insider Trading

OSC Launches Whistleblower Program

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has launched the Office of the Whistleblower and published OSC Policy 15-601 Whistleblower Program effective July 15, 2016. Together, these initiatives establish a new whistleblowing program that offers financial awards of up to $5 million for tips on possible violations of Ontario securities law that lead to enforcement action.

The OSC program allows whistleblowers to make anonymous reports to the OSC, and new protections have been enacted for whistleblowers that access the program. In particular, the Securities Act has been amended to add anti-reprisal provisions protecting employees who have sought advice about, expressed an intention to or actually provided information about a possible securities violation to the OSC.  In addition, the Act invalidates gag or confidentiality provisions or agreements that would otherwise silence or prevent whistleblowers from participating in an investigation.

Continue reading »

Alerts, Antitrust / Competition & Cartels, Canada

Competition Bureau secures second-largest fine in Canadian bid-rigging history

On April 1, 2016, the Competition Bureau and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), formerly the Federal Department of Justice, secured their ninth guilty plea in the Bureau’s years-long investigation of the Japanese auto parts industry. .The Showa Corporation—a Japanese manufacturer and supplier of auto parts—pleaded guilty in Court to one count of bid-rigging under section 47 of the Competition Act. The Showa Corporation was sentenced to pay a fine of $13 million—the second largest fine ever ordered by a Canadian court for a bid-rigging offence.

Continue reading »

Alerts, Anti-Corruption & Bribery, International Trends in White Collar Enforcement, United States

What happens in Vegas…SEC investigates Sands Hotel and Casino

In 2006 through to at least 2011, the Las Vegas Sands hotel and casino corporation transferred funds totaling more than $62 million to a “consultant” in China to promote their interests.

Lacking supporting documentation for appropriate authorization and identity, the money trail raised a red flag for the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the United States. This led to an investigation under the authority of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as an investigation carried out by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), since the Sands is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Since the Sands management could not account for the funds transferred to the consultant, bribery was inferred. This lack of controls extended to other transactions, including gifts and entertainment to foreign officials, employee and vendor expense reimbursement, and customer complimentary services.

Continue reading »

Alerts, Anti-Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing, Canada

FINTRAC fines Canadian bank with no name a fistful of dollars

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the federal agency responsible for the detection, prevention and deterrence of money laundering and terrorist financing, has, for the first time, imposed an administrative monetary penalty on a Canadian bank. The penalty of more than $1.1-million comes at a time of increased scrutiny of Canadian financial institutions and financial transactional crime as a result of the publication of the Panama Papers.

Continue reading »

Analysis, Canada, Capital Markets Fraud & Insider Trading

Can the OSC sharpen its teeth and take a bite out of enforcement, or lack thereof?

The enforcement efforts of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the regulator that administers and enforces compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act (Ontario) and the Commodity Futures Act (Ontario), have had mixed success— at best. With a mandate to protect investors and ensure fair and efficient capital markets through monitoring compliance and enforcement measures in the securities industry in Ontario, the regulatory body has been struggling to be taken seriously. Having taken a chapter from the playbook of the American national Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), prosecuting individuals for Insider trading, tipping, and securities fraud, the initial results, which are highlighted below, were underwhelming. Now, in a renewed effort to assert its presence in the capital markets as a regulator with teeth, the OSC is taking new approaches, with more promising results.

Continue reading »