CFTC Seeks to Vacate Gemini’s $5mn Enforcement Following Winklevoss Ask
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is moving to vacate a $5 million enforcement settlement reached with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini under the Biden administration, following a lobbying campaign by founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
KPMG Australia’s CEO Steps Down as Whistleblower Scandal Grows
The chief executive of KPMG’s Australian arm and its national audit leader have resigned after the Big Four firm admitted its investigation into whistleblower allegations of data misuse had fallen short of its standards.
CFTC Probes $800mn in Oil Trades Made Before Trump’s Iran Announcement
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating a surge of more than $800 million in oil futures trades that occurred moments before President Trump announced on social media that he was postponing strikes on Tehran’s energy infrastructure.
PayPal to Forgo $30mn in Fees to Settle Federal DEI Probe
PayPal has agreed to forgo approximately $30 million in transaction fees to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into whether the financial services company unlawfully favored minority-owned businesses through a funding initiative launched in 2020.
A Defunct Crypto Company Wants Its Money Back from the SEC
Lawyers for Bittrex, the shuttered U.S. cryptocurrency exchange that paid $24 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit in 2023, are asking a federal judge to throw out the agreement and order the agency to return the money.
HSBC Books $400-Million Loss to Alleged Private-Credit Fraud
HSBC has booked a $400-million “fraud-related” charge tied to the collapse of UK bridging lender Market Financial Solutions, hitting first-quarter profits at Europe’s biggest bank and exposing one of the most material indirect transmission channels yet between private credit and a global systemically important lender.
SEC Denies Whistleblower Award to Ex-Deutsche Exec Who Aided ESG Case
A former Deutsche Bank executive who went public with allegations that the lender’s asset-management arm overstated its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials has been denied a U.S. whistleblower award because regulators say they first learned of her claims through the press.
After Seeking $200 Million in 2024, SEC Settles for $1.5 Million in Musk Case
Elon Musk has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations that he cheated Twitter shareholders in 2022 by failing to properly disclose his growing stake in the social media company.
PwC to Pay $166 Million to Settle Hong Kong Evergrande Allegations
PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to pay HK$1.3 billion ($166 million) in fines and compensation to settle regulatory investigations into its audit work for collapsed Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group.
UK Shuts Down Illegal Crypto Trading Operations in London
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other UK authorities shut down eight sites across London as part of a crackdown on illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, the agency announced on Wednesday.