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On 22 November 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced the enforcement statistics for fiscal year 2024, providing a report on financial remedies and ongoing efforts to promote compliance and investor protection. Despite a decline in the total number of enforcement actions, the United States SEC boasts its ability to secure outcomes, including its highest-ever monetary remedies and landmark judgments in high-profile cases. The United States SEC’s primary mandate is to enforce federal securities laws to ensure market integrity, protect investors, and hold violators accountable. Each year, the agency reports on its enforcement activities, reflecting its response to emerging market risks, compliance trends, and the evolving landscape of securities regulation. Fiscal year 2024 saw a shift toward encouraging proactive compliance among market participants, addressing technological challenges, and targeting major fraud schemes. In fiscal year 2024, the United...

On 22 November 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission received proposals i.e. proposal 1, proposal 2 and proposal 3 from Miami International Securities Exchange LLC and its affiliate, MIAX PEARL LLC, to amend their rules to permit the listing and trading of options on a range of Bitcoin-backed funds. The funds include well-known cryptocurrency financial instruments such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). These filings to aim at integrating Bitcoin-related financial products into the regulated securities market of the United States. The proposals are presented by Miami International Securities Exchange LLC (MIAX) and its affiliate MIAX PEARL LLC, which are recognised self-regulatory organisations under the oversight of the US SEC. As part of their obligations, the exchanges must comply with the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and submit rule changes for US SEC...

On 21 November 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Gary Gensler, the 33rd Chair of the Commission, will step down from his role on 20 January 2025. Chair Gary Gensler, who began his tenure on 17 April 2021 in the wake of the GameStop market events, has led the agency through a transformative period marked by sweeping reforms to enhance the efficiency, resilience, and integrity of United States capital markets. During his tenure, Chair Gary Gensler spearheaded several rulemaking agenda, bringing updates to both the US $28 trillion Treasury market and the US $55 trillion equity market. These included implementing central clearing in Treasury markets, narrowing exemptions for broker-dealers, and shortening the equity market settlement cycle to one day. The reforms also introduced measures to enhance transparency in broker execution quality, benefitting investors with lower costs and improved market efficiency. Under Chair Gary Gensler’s leadership,...

On 21 November 2024, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Global Markets Advisory Committee, chaired by Commissioner Caroline D. Pham, has advanced a recommendation to enable the use of distributed ledger technology for non-cash collateral in derivatives markets. The recommendation aims to improve efficiency and reduce risks associated with using non-cash assets as collateral, such as government bonds and other high-quality securities. The recommendation is the fourteenth advanced by the Global Markets Advisory Committee to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the past year, marking a record for any advisory committee within the same timeframe. The Global Markets Advisory Committee advises the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission on maintaining the integrity and competitiveness of U.S. markets in a globally interconnected environment. Established in 1998, GMAC addresses regulatory challenges and provides recommendations on...

On November 20, 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York demanding jury trial against Cyril Sebastien Dominique Cabanes. The complaint alleges that Cabanes, while serving as a director of Azure Power, participated in a bribery scheme involving payments exceeding USD 250 million to Indian state officials. The alleged scheme aimed to secure contracts necessary for large-scale renewable energy projects. The complaint also claims that Cabanes violated the anti-bribery provisions of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Cyril Sebastien Dominique Cabanes, a French national residing in Singapore, was a director of Azure Power and represented the interests of its largest shareholder, the Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. In December 2019, the Solar Energy Corporation of India awarded contracts for the Manufacturing Linked Projects to Azure Power...

On November 20, 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. The complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in a large-scale bribery scheme, amounting to hundreds of millions of United States dollars, to secure contracts for renewable energy projects in India. The complaint further alleges that the defendants misrepresented their adherence to anti-bribery principles in connection with a United States bond offering worth USD 750 million. In 2015, Gautam Adani founded Adani Green Energy Limited as a renewable energy subsidiary of the Adani Group. Sagar Adani, his nephew, was appointed Executive Director in 2018. Over the years, Adani Green Energy Limited positioned itself as a leader in renewable energy development and a proponent of strict anti-bribery and corporate governance standards. In June 2019, the Solar Energy Corporation of India...

On 20 November 2024, the New York Stock Exchange announced the implementation of new rule changes filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on 12 November 2024. These amendments aim to enhance market transparency, simplify regulatory processes, and ensure clarity for all market participants. The revisions replace references to the “Department of Member Regulation” with the broader term “Exchange” across several rules. These include provisions governing tape recording requirements, disciplinary procedures, and eligibility proceedings for members subject to statutory disqualifications. By consolidating regulatory language under the term “Exchange,” the New York Stock Exchange seeks to eliminate outdated terminology and align its rulebook with modern operational standards. The New York Stock Exchange stated that these changes reduce regulatory complexity while maintaining a robust and transparent framework. The removal of redundant provisions and outdated...

On 14 November 2024, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced its enforcement priorities for the year 2025. These priorities are designed to tackle financial misconduct, with a strong focus on protecting consumers from harm amidst increasing cost of living pressures and addressing unethical practices that undermine market integrity. The enforcement strategy aims to combat misconduct that exploits superannuation savings, unscrupulous property investment schemes, and predatory lending practices. It includes addressing failures by insurers to act fairly, strengthening investigations into insider trading, and prosecuting unlawful debt management and collection activities. ASIC has also committed to targeting greenwashing and other misleading conduct related to environmental, social, and governance claims, while addressing service failures in the superannuation sector and ensuring that finance providers do not take advantage of vulnerable consumers, particularly in...

On 19 November 2024, the Reserve Bank of India, the apex bank of India, issued a press release regarding the circulation of fake deepfake videos on social media featuring the RBI Governor. The central bank emphasised that these videos fraudulently attribute financial advice and investment endorsements to its senior leadership, posing a risk to public trust and security. In its official statement, the Reserve Bank of India clarified that it has no involvement in or support for any such investment schemes or financial advice. The deceptive videos, created using advanced artificial intelligence tools, falsely claim endorsements from the Reserve Bank of India’s leadership to lure unsuspecting individuals into dubious schemes. The central bank urged the public to disregard such videos and refrain from making financial decisions based on them. This warning applies throughout India’s jurisdiction, including all its states and union territories, where the Reserve Bank of India holds...

On 18 November 2024, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, addressed the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro, expressing gratitude to global leaders for their continued trust and support. She discussed the International Monetary Fund’s efforts in strengthening global economic resilience and detailed key initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges faced by its member countries. Kristalina Georgieva began by acknowledging the trust placed in the International Monetary Fund, which has enabled the institution to provide over one trillion dollars in liquidity and reserves to its members. She emphasized the International Monetary Fund’s efforts in building robust financial buffers to meet the historically high demands of member countries. These efforts include a fifty percent increase in quota resources, surpassing the G20 goal of lending one hundred billion dollars in Special Drawing Rights to low-income and vulnerable middle-income...

On 18 November 2024, Ms. Patlian Johnson has been appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, effective 1 August 2024. Ms. Johnson previously served as Senior Policy, Research and Statistics Officer at the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission from 2004 to 2007. Ms. Patlian Johnson has over twenty years of professional experience in public finance, planning, policy development, economic analysis, and programme design and implementation. Her career highlights include leading public financial management reforms as Deputy Financial Secretary for Economic and Fiscal Affairs, contributing to the British Virgin Islands’ Recovery Plan following hurricanes Irma and Maria, and playing a key role in the development of the National Sustainable Development Plan. Ms. Johnson has also managed national programmes focused on advancing the blue and digital economies and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in her role as...