In an article titled, ‘’Compliance Officers Beware: A Firm’s Failure Can Get Personal,” Linda Riefberg and Joseph Dever, members of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department, discuss the different approaches taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) with respect to individuals acting as Anti-Money Laundering, Legal and Compliance Officers (hereinafter jointly referred to as CCO). The SEC requires as a threshold matter that the CCO had supervisory responsibility over other individuals. FINRA, on the other hand, is satisfied if the individual has supervisory responsibilities over businesses or program areas that had failures even if the person was not an actual supervisor.
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