The US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has released the results of its review of economic and financial sanctions first announced in December 2020 by then President-elect Biden (Report). From that review, Treasury has...more
On June 30, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) provided an update on implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act) and issued the first government-wide priorities for anti-money...more
7/9/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the Proposed Rule) seeking input from the public on the implementation of a reporting...more
In a closely watched decision, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit confirmed the government’s expansive authority to search cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices at the border. On February 9, 2021, the...more
2/19/2021
/ Appeals ,
Border Searches ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electronic Devices ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Mobile Devices ,
National Security ,
Reasonable Suspicion ,
Search & Seizure ,
Search Warrant
On January 1, 2021, the US Senate voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of H.R. 6395, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA). As part of the NDAA, the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020...more
1/8/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Congressional Override ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Banks ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Presidential Veto ,
Shell Corporations ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Transparency ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On December 18, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish new requirements for convertible virtual currency (CVC) and legal tender digital asset (LTDA)...more
On October 8, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Cyber-Digital Task Force issued an 83-page comprehensive “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” (Framework), signaling the DOJ’s increased focus on prosecuting...more
On August 14, 2020, the US Department of Justice (the DOJ) issued its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Opinion Procedure Release in six years, which relayed that it did not intend to pursue an enforcement action...more
8/25/2020
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Banks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fees ,
Foreign Banks ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Multinationals ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Subsidiaries
On July 30, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released an advisory that signals its focus on cybercrime arising from vulnerabilities potentially created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Advisory on...more
On June 1, 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released revised guidance for evaluating a company’s corporate compliance program. Since its creation in 2017, the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (Guidance) has...more
Corrupt? Yes. An abuse of power? Yes. But criminal? Not quite. On May 7, 2020, the US Supreme Court unanimously overturned the convictions of two former New Jersey public officials responsible for “Bridgegate,” a scheme that...more
5/14/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bridgegate ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Federal-Program Fraud ,
Governor Christie ,
Intent to Obtain Money or Property ,
Kelly v United States ,
Political Scandals ,
Public Officials ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Wire Fraud
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act) came into effect as part of an ongoing effort to combat the financial crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act...more
The US Department of Justice has taken its first enforcement action against COVID-19 fraud, illustrating its previously stated commitment to prosecute “bad actors” attempting to exploit the global health crisis. On March 22,...more
As we all respond to COVID-19 (the coronavirus), we should keep an eye on the responsive measures being taken by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and consider how those measures might impact companies and individuals...more
On February 26, 2020, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut reinforced the Second Circuit’s recent decision to limit prosecutors’ ability to pursue Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges against foreign...more
3/4/2020
/ Acquittals ,
Agency Relationship ,
Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Indictments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subsidiaries
On December 13, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a revised Export Control and Sanctions Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations (Revised EC/S Policy), clarifying its prior guidance on voluntary...more
1/14/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Forfeiture ,
Remediation ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On November 20, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the latest revisions to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Corporate Enforcement Policy (the Corporate Enforcement Policy). The revised language provides...more
12/3/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Remediation ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is increasingly using the money laundering statute to prosecute individuals in corruption and bribery cases. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is the primary statute prohibiting...more
11/12/2019
/ Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Equador ,
Extortion ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Forfeiture ,
Indictments ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) of 1986 ,
Venezuela ,
Willful Misconduct
On October 7, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit extended litigants’ ability to seek discovery under 28 U.S.C. §1782. Parties typically pursue discovery as part of the litigation process; however, Section...more
On September 16, 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted three precious metals traders for allegedly violating six criminal statutes, including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act...more
9/27/2019
/ Bribery ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Racketeering ,
RICO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Whistleblowers
On August 9, 2019, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a Chinese real estate developer’s conviction in United States v. Ng Lap Seng. The Court rejected defendant’s attempt to read an “official act”...more
On May 2, a federal district court judge minced no words in castigating the Government for effectively “outsourcing” its investigation into whether a bank manipulated the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to the bank...more
5/15/2019
/ Banks ,
Coercion ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Government Investigations ,
Internal Investigations ,
Libor ,
Motion for Relief ,
Outsourcing ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Incrimination
Last week, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released its updated guidance on how prosecutors should evaluate corporate compliance programs. The revised guidance reiterates and expands on the hallmarks of successful...more
On March 6, 2019, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) consented to pay an $850 million sanction—the largest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) criminal penalty ever paid to the United States—and to a three-year monitorship to...more
On November 29, 2018, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) modified prior guidance on individual liability for corporate misconduct by affording federal prosecutors discretion to focus on “individuals who play significant roles...more