Category: General

Data Privacy Update — Keeping Up with Developments

When it comes to data privacy and regulation of personal information, United States companies face a number of major challenges.  Compliance is not easy when you have fast-moving targets.  The single biggest cause of this complex environment is the failure of the United States Congress to enact a federal data privacy law.  Trust me, on this point, I know how difficult this can be —...

Quarterly Trade Compliance Update – January 2024

Each quarter, we send many of our clients a quarterly trade compliance update, highlighting important developments over the last few months and summarizing key points for important sanctions programs. Click here to download the quarterly update for January. Below is a summary of events this past quarter: Venezuela –  Russia –  Middle East –  General –  About the document: This handy one-pager is designed to...

SEC Settlement with BarnBridge DAO and its Founders for Securities Violations Highlights Legal Risks for DAOs and DeFi

Matt Stankiewicz, Partner at The Volkov Law Group, joins us for another post discussing how the SEC’s recent settlement with BarnBridge DAO may impact the cryptocurrency industry. Matt can be contacted at [email protected]. On December 23, 2023, BarnBridge DAO (“BarnBridge”) and its founders, Tayler Ward and Troy Murray, agreed to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  BarnBridge violated Sections5(a) and 5(c) of...

NYDFS Sues Citigroup Over Lax Antifraud Defenses, Seeking Major Expansion in Antifraud Liability for Banking Institutions

The New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) has brought action in Federal court against Citibank, N.A., alleging that the bank systemically failed to protect accountholders from rampant online scam activity, leading to individual losses amounting to tens, or hundreds of thousands. In taking this step, NYDFS seeks formal recognition of depository institutions’ liability under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) to safeguard depositors from...

Top Five Risks Facing Corporate Boards

A Top 5 list should be viewed with suspicion — it is often just a headline grabbing posting with the clear purpose to gain readers’ attention.  In defense, however, it is interesting to compare articles on risk rankings.  To start with the obvious, corporate boards face growing risks — the economy, the regulatory environment, cybersecurity threats, technology developments  and stakeholder interests are all colliding and...

BIS Announces Further Enhancements to Voluntary Self-Disclosure Process

By: Alexander Cotoia (Regulatory Compliance Manager) and Daniela Melendez (Associate) of The Volkov Law Group On January 16, 2024, the U.S Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) released a series of enhancements to its existing voluntary self disclosure (“VSD”) program, pursuant to which organizations culpable of only technical violations of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) are entitled to access a proverbial “fast...

A Practical Guide to Compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”)

Alexander Cotoia is currently Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he routinely advises the firm and its clients on domestic and international developments implicating the regulation of global supply chains. He may be reached at [email protected]. On December 31, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (“UFLPA”) into law to address the ongoing exploitation of the...

“Person” of the Year: Technology and the Challenges for Ethics and Compliance

I always enjoy retrospective “year in review” postings to start off the new year.  For years, I have sought to identify and capture important compliance trends, typically focused on specific professionals in the compliance arena.  This year, however,  is a little different.  Compliance is at an important inflection point.  Corporate business headlines have been dominated by technology issues.  I am not convinced that these headlines...

2023 Sanctions Year in Review and Predictions

As always, I tend to repeat myself.  However, one important point needs to be repeated — DOJ is in the midst of launching an aggressive sanctions and export control program against corporations and individuals.  DOJ has warned everyone, repeated this message in various speeches and, most importantly, assigned the resources — 25 new federal prosecutors to enforce sanctions and export controls — to back up...

A Recap of Significant Export Control Enforcement Efforts from 2023

Alexander J. Cotoia currently serves as the Regulatory Compliance Manager at The Volkov Law Group, where he regularly advises the firm and its clients on the latest developments implicating trade compliance concerns. He may be reached at [email protected]; As global political tensions continued to escalate on multiple fronts, the 2023 calendar year saw a noticeable increase in the number of enforcement actions initiated by the U.S....