Features

"Spoofing" as Fraud: A Novel and Untested Theory of Prosecution
The DOJ has signaled its intent to pursue prosecutions for spoofing — which the law defines as "bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution" — aggressively. This article begins with a brief discussion of the elements that the government must prove to establish commodities fraud and wire fraud. It then examines recent spoofing prosecutions that raise important questions about the applicability of the traditional fraud statutes to spoofing-related activity. How the federal courts answer these open questions will have significant implications for participants in the commodities markets.
Columns & Departments
Business Crimes Hotline
Securities Commission Malaysia Issues Maximum Fine for Deloitte Related to 1MDB Audits
Columns & Departments
Business Crimes Hotline
Securities Commission Malaysia Issues Maximum Fine for Deloitte Related to 1MDB Audits
Features

Robbing a Locked Bank Vault from Home: Legal Issues Raised by Cryptocurrency Frauds
Cryptocurrency theft remains a major concern for traders and investors given that billions of dollars of cryptocurrency are stolen every year. These cutting-edge problems intersect in interesting ways with companies' existing fraud and anti-money laundering concerns, but it all starts with the cryptocurrency "wallet."
Features

Secured Creditors Beware of Your Descriptions, Nomenclature and Terminations
Secured creditors can learn a great deal from a few recent bankruptcy cases involving the Uniform Commercial Code that remind us that the “devil is in the details.” These cases show that it is unrealistic to expect forgiveness by a court after a misstep involving Article 9 of the UCC.
Features

Robbing a Locked Bank Vault from Home: Legal Issues Raised by Cryptocurrency Frauds
The advent of cryptocurrencies has raised a host of legal issues; some of the most immediate ones — such as whether cryptocurrencies are securities — appear to have been resolved, but cryptocurrency theft remains a major concern for traders and investors given that billions of dollars of cryptocurrency are stolen every year.
Features

Fifth Circuit Affirms Shareholder Veto of Chapter 11 Petition
“Federal law does not prevent a bona fide shareholder from exercising its right to vote against a bankruptcy petition just because it is also an unsecured creditor,” held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in <i>In re Franchise Services of North America, Inc.</i> According to the court, applicable Delaware law would not “nullify the shareholder's right to vote against the bankruptcy petition.”
Features

When Is a Bid or Offer a 'Spoof'?
<b><i>U.S. Supreme Court Denial of Cert Leaves Statute Vague</i></b><p>This article analyzes the confusion faced by commodity futures traders in assessing whether their trading strategies constitute illegal spoofing and examines whether the CFTC and Seventh Circuit have provided sufficient guidance on the distinction between spoofing and legitimate trading activity.
Features

Preparing for Proxy Season 2018: A Primer for General Counsel
As we enter 2018, public companies across the United States will begin, in earnest, their preparations for this year's proxy season and annual shareholder meetings. It is not an understatement to say that 2017 was a tumultuous year on many fronts — economically, politically and globally. As a result, general counsel should have several issues on their radar that could play a role in 2018's proxy season.
Features

SEC's New Cyber Unit Moves to Tackle 'Scam' Coin Offering
<b><i>In the First Enforcement Action Initiated By Its New “Cyber Unit,” the SEC Announced It Has Secured a Court Order to Freeze the Assets of Individuals Behind a “Scam” Initial Coin Offering</b></i><p>In the first enforcement action initiated by its new “Cyber Unit,” the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced it has secured a court order to freeze the assets of individuals behind a “scam” initial coin offering, or ICO.
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