SEC’s New, Powerful Enforcement Options

Miller & Chevalier attorney Daniel Patrick Wendt looks at a lesser-known provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation that allows the Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue civil penalties for a broad range of actions through administrative actions, and to impose civil penalties on its own as well as in federal court. As a result, companies and executives challenging enforcement actions or negotiating settlements involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are confronted with a new situation, advantageous in some circumstances and a disadvantage in others. In short, Wendt writes, the SEC can now do its enforcement work in FCPA cases without ever having to leave home.