SEC加强对上市公司是否遵守美国制裁合规的质询

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The Securities and Exchange Commission is increasingly questioning public companies about compliance with U.S. sanctions as the nation’s blacklist of individuals and entities grows.

随着列入美国制裁黑名单的个人和实体增加，美国证券交易委员会(SEC)加强对上市公司是否遵守美国制裁措施的质询。

The regulator has slowly ramped up comment letters to companies seeking more details about disclosures related to dealings in countries targeted by U.S. sanctions, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of regulatory filings and data compiled by consulting firm Audit Analytics Inc.

据《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)对监管文件和咨询公司Audit Analytics Inc.编撰的数据进行的分析显示，SEC已逐渐增多了向企业发出的意见函，向这些公司寻求披露与美国制裁目标国家做交易相关的细节。

At least 42 companies received letters from the SEC last year regarding activity in areas subject to sanctions enforced by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. That matches the 2017 total, which is up from an average of about 33 during the three years ending in 2016, according to Audit Analytics.

去年至少有42家公司收到了SEC的意见函，内容涉及在美国财政部外国资产管制办公室(OFAC)实施制裁领域的活动。据Audit Analytics，这一数字与2017年的总数相当，而在截至2016年的三年中，这一数字平均约为33家。

In recent months, the SEC has sent letters to companies such as PayPal Holdings Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Chinese travel-services provider Ctrip.com International Ltd.with sanctions-related questions.

最近几个月，SEC向PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL)、纽约梅隆银行股份有限公司(Bank of New York Mellon Co., BK)和中国旅游服务提供商携程旅行网(Ctrip.com International Ltd., CTRP)等公司致函，询问与制裁有关的问题。

The SEC doesn’t play an active role in penalizing companies for potential sanctions violations, but it does police companies’ disclosures to ensure adequate reporting on business risks, said Scott Flicker, a partner at law firm Paul Hastings LLP in Washington, D.C.

美国普衡律师事务所(Paul Hastings LLP)驻华盛顿特区的合伙人Scott Flicker表示，SEC在惩罚可能违反制裁规定的公司方面并不扮演积极角色，但该机构会监督公司的信息披露，以确保公司充分披露了商业风险。

The SEC regularly sends comment letters to companies with questions about disclosures made in securities filings. The letters usually focus on accounting practices, and can result in additional disclosures in future filings, revisions to previously filed disclosures, or a simple response with extra details that help the SEC better understand a disclosure. The back-and-forth between a company and the SEC stops once the regulator deems the matter resolved. The letters are typically made public about 20 days after a matter is resolved.

美国证券交易委员会(SEC)定期向公司发送评论信，就证券申报文件中披露的信息提出质疑。这些信件通常侧重于会计实务，可能会导致未来提交的文件中出现更多的披露信息，对之前提交的信息进行修订，或者简单地回复一些额外细节，帮助SEC更好地理解披露信息。一旦监管机构认为问题得到解决，一家公司与SEC之间的来回就会停止。这些信件通常在事情解决后20天左右公诸于众。

The uptick coincides with a surge in U.S. sanctions, which have been used by the Trump administration to increase pressure on geopolitical issues or target suspected criminal behavior.

与此同时，美国加大了对伊朗的制裁，特朗普政府利用这些制裁加大了在地缘政治问题上的压力，或者针对可疑的犯罪行为。

PayPal, the San Jose, Calif.-based financial technology company, received a comment letter in July about its 2018 annual report, in which PayPal disclosed that it self-reported to OFAC suspicious transactions that might have violated U.S. sanctions.

今年7月，总部位于加州圣何塞的金融科技公司贝宝(PayPal)收到了一封有关其2018年年报的评论信。在这份报告中，贝宝披露，它向OFAC自我报告了可能违反美国制裁的可疑交易。

The SEC asked PayPal to detail the countries related to the transactions and the extent of the company’s contact with the countries. The regulator also asked PayPal to specify whether those contacts posed a material risk to investors. The correspondence was made public last week.

SEC要求PayPal详细说明与这些交易相关的国家，以及该公司与这些国家接触的程度。监管机构还要求贝宝详细说明这些联系是否对投资者构成重大风险。这些信件于上周公诸于众。

The SEC declined to comment beyond the letters.

SEC拒绝就上述信件以外的内容置评。

Aaron Anderson, PayPal’s chief accounting officer, responded to the SEC, writing that the transactions in question, which occurred between 2013 and 2016, were related to North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria—countries that were under U.S. sanctions at the time of processing. He said in the letter that the revenue from the transactions and their volume were negligible to the company and that OFAC hasn’t made a decision about whether it would treat the flagged transactions as potential violations, according to the response sent to the SEC by the company.

贝宝首席会计长安德森(Aaron Anderson)对SEC做出了回应，他写道，有问题的交易发生在2013年至2016年之间，涉及朝鲜、伊朗、苏丹和叙利亚——这些国家在处理过程中受到了美国的制裁。根据该公司发给SEC的回复，他在信中说，这些交易的收入和交易量对该公司来说微不足道，而OFAC尚未决定是否将这些被标记的交易视为潜在违规行为。

A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the department doesn’t speculate on possible sanctions violations or comment on possible or pending investigations.

美国财政部发言人拒绝置评，说财政部不猜测可能违反制裁规定的行为，也不对可能或正在进行的调查发表评论。

The SEC is looking closely at potential security risks, particularly those related to money-transfer and peer-to-peer payment businesses, said Moshe Katri, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. who follows PayPal.

跟踪PayPal的Wedbush Securities Inc.分析师卡特里(Moshe Katri)说，SEC正在密切关注潜在的安全风险，尤其是与转账和个人对个人(p2p)支付业务相关的风险。

“These are risks that come when you’re processing billions of transactions,” Mr. Katri said. “This is going to be a consistent pain point for all of these companies.”

“当你处理数十亿笔交易时，这些风险就会出现，”卡特里说。“对所有这些公司来说，这都将是一个持续的痛点。”

“PayPal makes every effort to comply with laws and regulations in the markets where we do business around the world,” a company spokesman said in an email for this article. “As exhibited by the company’s track record of self-reporting and work to satisfy clarifying questions posed by the SEC, PayPal takes its regulatory and compliance obligations seriously.”

贝宝的一位发言人在为本文撰写的一封电子邮件中表示:“贝宝尽一切努力遵守我们在全球各地开展业务的市场的法律法规。”“从该公司的自我报告记录和满足SEC澄清问题的工作可以看出，PayPal认真对待其监管和合规义务。”

Mengqi Sun and Mark Maurer

Aug. 31, 2019 2:50 pm ET

（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）

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