Category: Analysis & Opinion

Regulatory Watch News

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  SEC Charges Boiler Room Operator and Three Entities with Defrauding Retail Investors in $74 Million Pre-IPO Investment Scam

  SEC

  August 15, 2026

  Washington D.C., Aug. 14, 2026 —

  The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged New York resident Andrew Spaventa and three entities he owned and controlled with fraud and other violations in connection with unregistered securities offerings of private funds that purportedly provided retail investors an opportunity to invest in shares of “pre-IPO” private companies while charging hidden fees.

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  CEO banned for false and misleading statements made in attempt to buy bank and football club

  Financial Conduct Authority

  August 14, 2026

  Paul Taylor, former CEO of Blue Horizon Asset Management (BHAM) has been fined £489,000 and banned from working in financial services by the FCA.

  The former managing director of the firm, Esmeralda Toni, has also been fined £121,200 for serious misconduct and banned by the FCA. During his time at BHAM, Mr Taylor made misleading statements and falsified information during 2 separate attempted acquisitions. While attempting to acquire a UK bank, Mr Taylor falsified, or arranged to be falsified, documents claiming to be the owner of a bond portfolio worth approximately €200m. Ms Toni knowingly assisted Mr Taylor by making misleading statements to the bank and by helping falsify the documents. Mr Taylor knew, and Ms Toni understood that it was likely, that these statements and documents would be relied upon by the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) as part of their assessment for the proposed acquisition.

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  Four sentenced over $10.7 million tax fraud and money laundering scheme

  Australia Federal Police

  August 14, 2026

  Four people have been sentenced by the District Court of NSW for their roles in a two-year, $10.7 million fraud that used labour hire and payroll companies linked to the building and construction industry. A joint AFP and ATO investigation, under the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce and known as Operation Bordelon, began in December, 2018, following intelligence identified in multiple criminal investigations. The court heard that four individuals were part of a sophisticated money laundering and tax evasion scheme, which ran from July 2018 to July 2020 and diverted $10.7 million in PAYG withholding from labour hire services.