In the United States, the Department of Justice (DoJ), including the regional US Attorney Offices, have federal criminal enforcement authority. Certain state regulators including District Attorneys and Attorneys General have criminal authority for state-level offences. There are several federal regulatory agencies who are very active in regulating the financial services arena, but who are limited to civil enforcement such as monetary penalties and licensing restrictions, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates the securities markets and service professionals, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which facilitates competition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates commodity exchanges and futures trading, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which takes action to protect consumers in a broad range of financial products and services. Certain civil federal regulators frequently refer matters to criminal authorities for prosecution such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), each a bureau of the US Treasury, which roots out money laundering and enforces US foreign sanctions, respectively.
LINKS
Read “US Authorities Set an Aggressive White-Collar Enforcement Agenda After Historic Lull” co-authored by Noah N. Gillespie, published in In-House Lawyer.