White Collar Law

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On July 7, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the creation of a new Retail Fraud Working Group within its Division of Enforcement. The initiative represents a structural expansion of the SEC’s enforcement capabilities and has direct implications for broker-dealers, investment advisers, and other regulated entities that serve retail clients. This is consistent with prior statements made by SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins about focusing the SEC’s Division of Enforcement on protecting retail investors.

A bipartisan coalition of seven state attorneys general (AG) reached a settlement with the Chinese-owned messaging and payment platform WeChat under which the company committed to take steps to combat the use of its platform in fentanyl-related money laundering. The agreement focuses on improving law enforcement cooperation, preserving and producing user data in response to law enforcement requests, and proactively detecting illicit activity on the service. The settlement is part of a broader enforcement campaign by state AGs to push online platforms to adopt proactive measures to monitor illicit activity on their services and improve cooperation with law enforcement.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has proposed a sweeping update to how broker‑dealers handle outside business activities and private securities transactions. FINRA seeks to consolidate and replace Rules 3270 (Outside Business Activities of Registered Persons) and 3280 (Private Securities Transactions of an Associated Person) with a single new rule: Rule 3290 (Outside Activities Requirements). The proposal preserves the core investor protection concepts of the existing rules but refocuses them on investment‑related activities.

On August 28, 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a rule relaxing certain restrictions on Syria under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). But unlike the much broader lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria, which we previously discussed, BIS has retained significant parts of the longstanding restrictive export control regime on Syria.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) has announced a new initiative aimed at enhancing the detection and prosecution of antitrust violations. On July 7, 2025, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service, launched the “Whistleblower Rewards Program.” This program is designed to incentivize individuals to report antitrust crimes affecting the postal service, its revenues, or property, offering whistleblowers the opportunity to receive up to 30% of any criminal fines recovered for violations.

On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will use the False Claims Act (FCA) as a basis for investigating the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices of recipients of federal funds, including colleges and universities who receive Title IV student financial aid and research grants. Calling out academic institutions specifically, the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative will invoke the FCA “against those who defraud the United States by taking its money while knowingly violating civil rights laws.”

On May 8, the Treasury Department announced a plan to introduce a new Known Investor portal as a key component of the “fast-track” process for investments by U.S. allies and partners under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This plan was previewed in the America First Investment Policy Memorandum, discussed in more detail here.

On May 12, 2025, the Head of the Criminal Division (the Criminal Division or Division) at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Matthew R. Galeotti, issued key memoranda to Criminal Division personnel on the Division’s new priorities and policies for prosecuting corporate and white-collar crimes and for the imposition of monitorships. On the same day, the Criminal Division also issued a revised Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy and long-awaited updates to the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program. As expected, the Criminal Division’s position is consistent with prior memoranda issued by U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi and the new Administration, which we previously discussed here.

The Treasury Department has taken initial steps to implement the Trump administration’s “total elimination” policy directed at certain drug trafficking cartels. Most recently, on May 1, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert advising about a rising trend of oil smuggling from Mexico across the U.S. border led by several cartels.

There are unprecedented risks and opportunities emerging for companies in the energy sector as the Trump administration’s priorities start to come into focus. Many of those are well-known to the industry. Here’s one that’s not: the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) rules, administered by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).