Over the last several years, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has continued to emerge as a consequential securities transaction regulator, acting in the stead of the traditional authority imposed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Certainly, this manner of delegation of a prosecutorial function to an administrative agency has been the subject of criticism. See, e.g., Nov. 5, 2014, PLI Securities Regulation Institute Keynote Address, “Is the SEC Becoming a Law Unto Itself?” Hon. Jed S. Rakoff , U.S.D.J. Nonetheless, for various reasons beyond the scope of this article, it is a trend that is very likely to continue, with limited imposition of oversight.
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