DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ BlackRock to pay $2.5 mln fine to settle SEC disclosure charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | October | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A trader works as a screen displays the trading information for BlackRock on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., October 14, 2022. From 2015 to 2019, one of BlackRock's trusts made investments in Aviron Group LLC, a firm that developed advertising plans for films, the SEC said. BlackRock inaccurately described the firm to investors, regulators said. In 2019, the asset manager identified the inaccuracies and accurately described the investments from them, the SEC said. Representatives for BlackRock, which consented to the SEC's findings, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, BlackRock, Katharine Jackson, Costas Pitas, Chris Prentice, Jasper Ward, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: BlackRock, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchanges, Aviron, SEC, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Washington

☆ WhatsApp clampdown highlights video call compliance threat for finance firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Video calls are broadly considered proxies for face-to-face meetings and therefore are currently subject to little or no formal record-keeping obligations. At least two major global banks are now recording Zoom calls, said sources with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named because the information is not public. One bank is recording Zoom calls undertaken by certain staff, including traders, while the other is recording all Zoom calls so content can be reviewed later if needed. FINRA declined to comment on how many firms were subject to the rule or whether the rule also extended to video calls. Video calls pose "unique risks" and technology needed to efficiently screen video calls is not widely used, said Matt Smith, CEO of communications surveillance firm SteelEye.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brad Levy, Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Matthew Nunan, Gibson, Dunn, Morgan Stanley, Sarah Pritchard, Claire Garrett, Michael Watling, Seward, FINRA, Matt Smith, Ryan, Yonk, Symphony's Levy, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Huw Jones, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Finance, Reuters, U.S, EMEA, Microsoft, Britain's, Authority, HSBC, Bloomberg, U.S . Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Employees, American Institute for Economic Research, Washington D.C, Thomson Locations: Marsh, U.S, New York, Washington, London

A spot bitcoin ETF would give investors exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization without having to own it. The SEC has denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications, including Grayscale's, on the grounds applicants have not shown they can protect investors from market manipulation. The appeals court ruled that the SEC arbitrarily denied Grayscale's application because it never explained why the two arrangements were materially different. The appeals court is expected to issue a mandate specifying how its decision should be executed, which will likely include instructing the SEC to revisit Grayscale's application. Several other asset managers, including BlackRock (BLK.N), Fidelity and Invesco, have similar filings pending with the SEC for a spot bitcoin ETF.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Grayscale's, Chris Prentice, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price, Rod Nickel Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, REUTERS, Columbia, BlackRock, Fidelity, Thomson Locations: Washington

Short selling involves borrowing a stock to sell it in the expectation the price will fall, then repurchasing the shares and pocketing the difference. Short interest in the U.S. market totaled $927 billion as of Thursday, according to analytics firm S3 Partners. The new rules require institutional investors to report their gross short positions to the SEC monthly and certain "net" short activity for individual dates on which trades settle. "Investment advisers will face more risk when selling short, which will harm investors, market participants, and market efficiency," said its CEO Bryan Corbett. SEC officials said the new rules, which the commission agreed upon in a 3-2 vote, support the agency's efforts to police the practice.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Gary Gensler, Gensler, Stephen Hall, FINRA, Bryan Corbett, Douglas Gillison, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Chizu Nomiyama, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, REUTERS, GameStop, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Partners, Stephen Hall of Better, Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Washington, U.S

Short selling involves borrowing a stock to sell it in the expectation the price will fall, then repurchasing the shares and pocketing the difference. The practice has long been divisive, with critics accusing short sellers of trying to hurt companies, and short sellers arguing they help root out fraud and corporate misconduct. Since at least 2021, the Justice Department and the SEC have also been investigating potential manipulation by short sellers and hedge funds around the publication of negative research reports. SEC officials said the new rules, which the commission agreed upon in a 3-2 vote, support the agency's efforts to police the practice. Specifically, institutional investors will have to report gross short positions to the SEC monthly and certain "net" short activity for individual dates on which trades settle.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Gary Gensler, FINRA, Douglas Gillison, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Chizu Nomiyama, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, REUTERS, GameStop, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Partners, Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Washington, U.S

Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. The agency on Thursday asked a federal court to force Musk to testify for its investigation into his $44 billion takeover of social media giant Twitter, the third time the SEC has taken Musk to court. "This case is different from past forays between the SEC and Elon Musk because it's a subpoena enforcement case. Musk also refused SEC proposals to testify in Texas, where he lives, in October or November, the SEC said. In 2022, a judge ordered Terraform Labs' founder to comply with an SEC subpoena for documents.

Persons: Elon Musk, Patrick Pleul, Musk, Musk's, Stephen Crimmins, Davis Wright Tremaine, Alex Spiro, Howard Fischer, Moses, Moses & Singer, Jay, Spiro, Tesla, Robert Frenchman, Mukasey Frenchman, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Twitter, Elon, Moses &, Terraform Labs, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gruenheide, Germany, videoconference, San Francisco, Texas

But then two days beforehand Musk raised "several spurious objections" and told the SEC he would not appear, the SEC said. According to the filing, Musk has given the SEC documents relating to the probe and has previously provided testimony in July last year via video conference. "The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation - enough is enough," said a statement from Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk. Musk acquired Twitter after initially building a large minority stake in the social media platform, which he first disclosed in April 2022. Faced with a trial that sought to compel him to complete the deal, Musk closed his acquisition of Twitter in late October 2022.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, Musk, ”, Alex Spiro, Twitter, ” Musk, Howard Fischer, Moses, Moses & Singer, Tesla, Shivansh, Tom Hals, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Sheila Dang, Megan Davies, Shinjini Ganguli, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Twitter, San, Musk, Moses &, Reuters, Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, San Francisco, Texas, New York, Bengaluru, Wilmington , Delaware, Washington, Austin

REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades./File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department will not target companies that disclose wrongdoing they find by businesses they are buying in a bid to encourage more self-disclosure, the Deputy Attorney General said on Wednesday. To get credit, companies must disclose the misconduct discovered at the other firm within six months of the deal closing, and they will have one year from closing to fully remediate, Monaco said. The new program is the latest in a series of policy changes announced under President Joe Biden designed to simultaneously promote corporate compliance while holding bad actors more accountable. Earlier this year, the Justice Department rolled out a new clawback program designed to have executives foot the bill for misconduct. The agency has been boosting resources for corporate criminal enforcement, Monaco said when asked about a slowdown in enforcement.

Persons: Lisa O, Monaco, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, General, Lisa Monaco, Joe Biden, Chris Prentice, Andrew Goudsward, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Department of Justice, REUTERS, U.S . Justice, DOJ, Justice Department, Monaco, Albemarle Corp, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Washington ,, Chicago, Monaco

Smartphone with displayed Coinbase logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Coinbase Global Inc FollowOct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday asked a federal judge to deny a motion from Coinbase Global (COIN.O) to dismiss the regulator's lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange. THE TAKETuesday's filing showed that the SEC is seizing on the Terraform Labs ruling to raise questions about the ruling in the Ripple case, which the crypto industry had hailed as a victory. THE CONTEXTThe SEC sued Coinbase in June, accusing it of operating illegally as a national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency without registering with the regulator. Thus, the Motion hinges on whether Coinbase intermediated transactions involving investment contracts, and thus securities.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Coinbase, Paul Grewal, Hannah Lang, Chris Prentice, Jonathan Stempel, Cynthia Osterman, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Terraform Labs, Terraform, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Washington, New York

Companies Coinbase Global Inc FollowNEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday asked a federal judge to deny a motion from Coinbase Global (COIN.O) to dismiss the regulator's lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel Writing by Chris Prentice Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jonathan Stempel, Chris Prentice, Chris Reese Organizations: Coinbase, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson

REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. securities regulator on Friday said it had fined 12 companies, including brokers, investment advisers and credit rating firms, for record keeping failures. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the companies, including Interactive Brokers Corp, Fifth Third Securities and Nuveen Securities, agreed to pay a total of $79 million and admitted they violated the record keeping rules. Credit rating agencies DBRS Inc. and Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC also agreed to pay civil penalties to settle SEC charges related to the record-keeping failures, the regulator added. Employees at both firms failed to preserve electronic communications, including off-channel messages on personal and work-issued devices, the SEC said. To settle the charges, DBRS agreed to pay $8 million in civil penalties and KBRA agreed to pay $4 million in civil penalties, the SEC said.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Kroll, DBRS, KBRA, Chris Prentice, Carolina, Barbara Lewis Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, REUTERS, Securities, Interactive Brokers Corp, Fifth Third Securities, Nuveen Securities, Reuters, Wall, DBRS Inc, Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Employees, Thomson Locations: Washington, U.S

The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are seen in Washington, July 6, 2009. One said some firms could pay as much as $50 million. The SEC has previously negotiated two other large group settlements as part of its "off-channel" communications probe. In August, regulators fined nine Wall Street firms, including Wells Fargo (WFC.N) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), a combined $549 million over employees' use of personal messaging apps. In September 2022, it fined 16 firms, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America, $1.8 billion for similar lapses.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Spokespeople, Oppenheimer, Voya, Wells, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Chris Prentice, Carolina, Michelle Price, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, REUTERS, Reuters, Truist Financial Corp, US Bancorp, Voya Financial, LPL, Interactive, Oppenheimer, Fifth Third Bancorp, Fifth, Truist, Wall Street, Societe Generale, Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Washington

Birkenstock believes it can obtain the final sign-off from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission even during a shutdown when the financial regulator would operate with only essential staff, the sources said. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said on Wednesday that a shutdown would reduce his agency's staffing to "skeletal" levels, blocking it from approving companies' IPO filings and hindering the agency's ability to respond to any market turmoil. An SEC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Birkenstock's IPO plans. Companies less advanced in their IPO preparations, including healthcare software vendor Waystar, healthcare services firm Brightspring and car-sharing platform Turo, could be affected by a government shutdown. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Birkenstock, Kevin McCarthy, Gary Gensler, Abigail Summerville, Anirban Sen, Chris Prentice, Echo Wang, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Republican U.S, SEC, Companies, Thomson Locations: Washington, New York

The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. DWS Investment Management Americas made "concerning" misstatements regarding its ESG investment process, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement. Separately, the SEC found DWS failed to develop a mutual fund anti-money laundering program as required by law. Reuters in July reported that the SEC was preparing to slap DWS with a fine after a two-year probe into allegations of "greenwashing". Under Democratic leadership, the SEC has pledged to crack down on the inflating of ESG credentials to attract investors.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, DWS, Goldman Sachs, BNY, Chris Prentice, Chizu Nomiyama, Emelia Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Deutsche Bank, DWS Investment Management, SEC, Regulators, Democratic, BNY Mellon, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Germany

In those cases, the SEC asked companies to review staff messages and report to the agency how many discussed work. SEC staff reviewed only a sample of messages themselves, according to three sources with knowledge of the previous investigations. As with broker-dealers, the SEC initially sought details on investment advisers' record-keeping policies. The SEC later demanded that the investment advisers hand over the messages, the sources said. The agency is ignoring important differences in investment advisers' recordkeeping requirements, said Jennifer Han, the MFA's executive vice president and chief counsel.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, Wall, Carlyle, Gary Gensler, Jaclyn Grodin, Storrs, JPMorgan Chase, Wells, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jennifer Han, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Marguerita Choy Organizations: New York Stock, REUTERS, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Reuters, Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management, KKR, Co, TPG, Blackstone, Citadel, Apollo, Goulston, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Association, Bloomberg, Carolina, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S

☆ US SEC charges investment firm linked to Russian billionaire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are seen in Washington, July 6, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Concord Management, Ltd FollowWASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday charged Concord Management and its owner with failing to register with regulators while operating as an investment adviser to an unidentified billionaire former Russian official. Concord Management LLC of Tarrytown, New York, and owner Michael Matlin were operating as unregistered investment advisers to a single client, a former Russian official with apparent connections to the Russian Federation, the SEC said in a statement. Matlin founded Concord in 1999 to provide investment advice and supervise investments in U.S. private funds, the SEC said. The firm monitored investments for the Russian individual until March 2022, when the United Kingdom and European Union sanctioned the unidentified client, it said.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Michael Matlin, Matlin, Abramovich, Chris Prentice, Rami Ayyub, Katharine Jackson, Josie Kao, Mark Potter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, REUTERS, Concord Management, WASHINGTON, Russian, Russian Federation, Concord, New York Times, Reuters, European Union, Thomson Locations: Washington, Tarrytown , New York, United Kingdom, New York

☆ Lyft to pay $10 mln civil penalty over disclosure failures -SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Prior to its public listing in March 2019, a Lyft board director arranged for the sale of $424 million worth of private shares through a special purpose vehicle affiliated with the director, the SEC said in a statement. Lyft did not disclose this information in its SEC filings for 2019, said the regulators, who did not disclose the director's name. Representatives for Lyft, which did not admit or deny the SEC allegations, did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The SEC said that Lyft was required to report details of the transaction because Lyft, which approved sale of the private sales, was a participant in the deal. The director left Lyft's board at the time of the transaction, regulators said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lyft, Chris Prentice, Doina Chiacu, Katharine Jackson, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Lyft, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, Washington

Wells Fargo Bank branch is seen in New York City, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Wells Fargo & Co FollowSept 15 (Reuters) - The former head of Wells Fargo's (WFC.N) retail bank on Friday avoided prison time after pleading guilty to an obstruction charge related to the bank's sweeping fake-accounts scandal. Prosecutors had sought a one-year prison term for Tolstedt, but the judge said it would unfairly make Tolstedt appear solely responsible for Wells Fargo's misconduct. That cap remains in place, though Wells Fargo remains the fourth-largest U.S. bank. Wells Fargo has also clawed back tens of millions of dollars of her pay.

Persons: Wells Fargo's, Carrie Tolstedt, Josephine Staton, Wells, Tolstedt, Martin Estrada, Wells Fargo, John Stumpf, Stumpf, Chris Prentice, Jonathan Stempel, Jaiveer Singh, Shounak Dasgupta, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Wells, U.S, San, Wells, Prosecutors, Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, Thomson Locations: Wells Fargo Bank, New York City, U.S, Los Angeles, San Francisco, America, Wells, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Goldman Sachs fires several executives in transaction banking -memo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Saeed Azhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N) fired several executives in its transaction banking unit after they violated the firm's communications policy, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Philip Berlinski, the bank's treasurer, will take over day-to-day management of transaction banking alongside Akila Raman and Luc Teboul. The fired executives also failed to cooperate with Goldman Sachs' compliance department. The bank remains strongly committed to the transaction banking business, it said. Goldman Sachs was among the first wave of big banks regulators hit with stiff penalties for such recordkeeping failures.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Andrew Kelly, Philip Berlinski, Akila Raman, Luc Teboul, Berlinski, Hari Moorthy, Moorthy, Saeed Azhar, Chris Prentice, Leslie Adler, Lananh Nguyen, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, FINRA's, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S

[1/2] The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. A lawyer for Stoner Cats did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Stoner Cats is an adult animated series about house cats that become sentient after being exposed to their owner's medical marijuana, which is used to alleviate early Alzheimer's symptoms. The NFTs provided holders with exclusive access to watch "Stoner Cats" online.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, NFTs, Jane Fonda, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Seth MacFarlane, Chris Rock, Stoner, Carolyn Welshans, Jonathan Stempel, Chris Prentice, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Stoner, U.S, Securities, SEC, Investors, Stoner Cats, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, New York

Signage is seen at the headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. YieldStreet, a New York investment firm that offers alternative assets to investors, failed to disclose a heightened risk related to the collateral behind one of its securities offerings, the SEC said in a statement. In September 2019, YieldStreet offered securities to finance a loan it made to companies to transport and deconstruct a retired ship. It did not tell investors of a heightened risk that they would not be able to seize the ship if the borrowers stole the funds and defaulted, as they ultimately did. Reporting by Chris Prentice; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, YieldStreet, Osman Nawaz, Chris Prentice, Jonathan Oatis, Paul Simao Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Yieldstreet Inc, U.S, Securities, YieldStreet, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, New York

Signage is seen at the headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said it has charged a former national office leader at audit firm Marcum LLP over quality control failures, the regulator said in a statement. The SEC said Alfonse Gregory Giugliano, a certified public accountant, failed to sufficiently address and remediate deficiencies in the firm's quality control system. In his role as a National Assurance Services Leader, he was aware of numerous deficiencies in Marcum's quality control system, the SEC said. The SEC in June charged marcum with a $10 million penalty for standards violations related to its audit work for hundreds of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Marcum, Alfonse Gregory Giugliano, Giugliano, Nikola, Chris Prentice, Nick Zieminski Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, National Assurance Services Leader, DraftKings Inc, Thomson Locations: Washington ,

Signage is seen outside of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. A centralized registry would also make it easier for the government to identify repeat offenders and deter potential fraudsters, Goldsmith Romero said. Goldsmith Romero had suggested the registry several years ago while serving as the watchdog of a key 2009 financial crisis bailout program. In Goldsmith Romero's previous role, the government watchdog did launch a database of such financial crimes related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Such a centralized database could serve as a model for a larger, national registry that federal regulators could organize and that state regulators could also participate in.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Christy Goldsmith Romero, Goldsmith Romero, Goldsmith Romero's, Chris Prentice, Leslie Adler Organizations: US, Futures Trading Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, fraudsters, CFTC, Reuters, Troubled Asset, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, U.S

☆ US authorities interview Winklevoss over claims against DCG and its CEO -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 7 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are probing claims of fraud that Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of crypto firm Gemini Trust Co, has made against the Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its founder Barry Silbert, according to a source familiar with the inquiry. Winklevoss has said that DCG and Silbert misrepresented the financial health of DCG's lending arm Genesis, which filed for bankruptcy in January. Gemini was the largest creditor of the bankrupt firm and is suing DCG and Silbert. Federal prosecutors in New York and investigators from the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission asked Winklevoss about his claims during an interview in recent months, the source said. Authorities have not accused DCG or Silbert of any misconduct and investigations do not always lead to charges.

Persons: Cameron Winklevoss, Lucas Jackson, Barry Silbert, Winklevoss, Silbert, Gemini, DCG, Chris Prentice, Jaiveer Singh, Devika Syamnath, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: New York State Department of Financial Services, REUTERS, Gemini Trust, Digital Currency Group, FBI, Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg, SEC, Gemini, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York, Bengaluru

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Prime Group Holdings Llc FollowNEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Prime Group Holdings LLC, a private equity firm based in Saratoga Springs, New York, has agreed to pay $20.5 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges related to disclosure failures, the regulator said on Tuesday. Prime Group failed to adequately disclose millions of dollars in real estate brokerage fees paid to a firm owned by its CEO. Prime Group did not adequately disclose to its investors that an affiliated firm was booking real estate brokerage fees related to an investment fund the group launched in 2017, the SEC said. A representative for Prime Group, which did not admit or deny the SEC's charges, declined to comment.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Chris Prentice, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Prime Group Holdings, U.S, Securities, Exchange, Prime, SEC, Prime Group, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Saratoga Springs , New York

Search resuls for: "Chris Prentice"

25 mentions found