News and Insights

Partners Kayvan Sadeghi and Michelle Kallen Discuss Ripple Labs Case for Reuters

Partners Kayvan Sadeghi and Michelle Kallen were interviewed by Reuters for an article that focused on a recent landmark decision addressing whether digital assets are securities. Judge Torres of the Southern District of New York ruled that XRP tokens themselves are not securities and that Ripple Labs’ sales in a secondary market were not securities transactions. In the article, Kayvan and Michelle suggest that the Torres approach “won’t necessarily preclude classwide securities fraud claims aga...READ MORE

Partner Kayvan Sadeghi Participates in Round Table Discussion on Stablecoins

Partner Kayvan B. Sadeghi contributed to a round table discussion on stablecoins for the Global Blockchain Business Council’s International Journal of Blockchain Law. Mr. Sadeghi observed that “banking regulation seems a better fit than securities regulation” for fiat-backed stablecoins. “The goal should be to minimize, not just disclose, the risks of failure.” ...READ MORE

“Supporting America’s Startups: Too Medium to Survive?” Bloomberg

In an article for Bloomberg, Partner Michael W. Ross and Law Clerk Isabel Farhi discuss how some tech startups are failing to meet the eligibility requirements to qualify for financial support under the CARES Act.  The authors examine why tech-startups have largely been ignored in the stimulus program’s policies, for both the Paycheck Protection Program aimed at small businesses, and the announced Main Street Program, aimed at larger businesses.  The authors suggest that technology and innovatio...READ MORE

Fintech Focus: Investment Advisers Join Ranks of Financial Institutions Subject to the Bank Secrecy Act

Dually registered, or “dual hat,” investment advisers are already well aware of the extensive obligations imposed by the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). But for others, the finalization of a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) rule imposing anti-money-laundering obligations on a broader range of investment advisers may place them in an unfamiliar and heavily regulated territory. Below, we briefly recap the requirements of the rule we first outlined in its proposed form in our February 2024...READ MORE

“How Transaction Lookbacks Can Guide Fintech Companies,” Law360 

Financial regulatory enforcement continues to be active this year, with approximately 18 anti-money laundering actions against financial institutions across federal regulators including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, one of the most aggressive state regulators.With these actions, regulators are looking closely at custom...READ MORE

"Navigating Self-Disclosures as a Regulated Financial Entity," Law360

Self-disclosure and cooperation policies have been in the spotlight lately, as components of the U.S. Department of Justice, including several U.S. attorney's offices, have formalized and announced policies regarding self-disclosure and cooperation credit.On the other hand, some, but not all, financial regulatory agencies have policies or regulations providing for consideration of voluntary self-disclosures. As enforcement risk heats up for regulated financial institutions — from prudentially su...READ MORE

A Second Wave: FinCEN and SEC Further Extend Investment Advisers’ AML Obligations with New CIP Requirements

In a sequel to FinCEN’s proposal earlier this year to extend anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act regulations to investment advisers (AML/BSA Proposal), on May 13, 2024, FinCEN and the SEC jointly issued a new Notice of Proposed Rule Making. This rule would extend formal customer identification program (CIP) obligations to investment advisers, something not otherwise included in FinCEN’s earlier proposal. If adopted, certain investment advisers would be required to establish and maintain a...READ MORE