On June 9, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) will resume investigating and prosecuting violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act...more
On May 12, 2025, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) issued a series of significant policy changes outlining the Trump administration’s new approach to white-collar enforcement....more
On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a new tariff regime under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (“IEEPA”), citing national security concerns. This regime includes a 10 percent baseline...more
On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (“EDVA”) and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Civil Rights Division (“CRT”) announced the formation of the Eastern District of...more
Among the drumbeats of rapid pronouncements and policy shifts since January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration recently issued a 180-day pause on new investigations and enforcement actions involving the U.S. Foreign Corrupt...more
As Donald J. Trump prepares to begin his second presidential administration on January 20, 2025, many Department of Justice (“DOJ”) priorities and policies are likely to change. One new Biden administration initiative that is...more
1/13/2025
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
As we approach Inauguration Day on January 20, 2025, one question among anticorruption practitioners is how the Trump administration will handle enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). In the meantime, we...more
12/23/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
When President-Elect Donald J. Trump takes office on January 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) is certain to be at the center of the action and conversation in Washington, D.C.—just as it...more
11/20/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Governance Standards ,
Government Agencies ,
Immigration Procedures ,
National Security ,
Trump Administration ,
Unlawful Entry ,
White Collar Crimes
For more than a decade, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has been able to bring enforcement actions in either federal court or the agency’s internal venue. Not anymore. On June 27, 2024, the U.S....more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Article III ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
Public Rights Doctrine ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Seventh Amendment
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC” or “Commission”) — the federal agency tasked with regulating the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps and certain kinds of options — has recently taken...more
It is one of the hardest questions a company can face: after discovering criminal conduct inside your company, do you self-report to the government or not? If you can quickly and quietly fix the problem, then you may be able...more
10/13/2023
/ Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Incentives ,
Internal Investigations ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
In an apparent response to a downturn in corporate cases and criticism that its harsh rhetoric was chilling corporate cooperation, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced significant changes to its policy on...more
In announcing recent changes to its corporate criminal enforcement policies, the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) continued its forceful “tough on crime” initiatives to deter wrongdoing....more
9/27/2022
/ Clawbacks ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Recidivism ,
Self-Reporting ,
Transparency
Enforcement of corporate crimes, which languished for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, will grow more vigorous this year and may be accompanied by significantly tougher penalties, partners with Vinson & Elkins’ (“V&E”)...more
5/27/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FBI ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Ransomware ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
White Collar Crimes
When companies get into trouble, it’s common practice for the government to call on independent third parties to help clean up the mess.
Companies under investigation by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) often agree to...more
A new sheriff is in town — and that means the potential for big changes ahead for white-collar criminal enforcement in terms of specific areas of focus and volume of investigations...more
6/25/2021
/ Attorney General ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Justice ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
No-Poaching ,
White Collar Crimes
As the Biden Administration gains its footing and key positions begin to be filled in the government, there promises to be a significant uptick in enforcement, especially in the areas of antitrust and white collar crime. In...more
On October 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) announced a $114 million whistleblower award—by far the largest amount ever awarded and more than doubling the previous record of nearly...more
On September 10, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Division of Enforcement released its long-awaited “Guidance on Evaluating Compliance Programs in Connection with Enforcement Matters,” which will be...more
In a significant move toward more transparency, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released new guidance (the “Guidance”) on August 18, 2020, setting forth its enforcement approach and...more
8/24/2020
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
New Guidance ,
Piling-On ,
Remediation ,
Self-Reporting ,
U.S. Treasury
In early June, federal agencies brought some of the first enforcement actions against COVID-19 securities fraudsters, involving over $100 million in fraudulent claims and profits, making good on their promise to investigate...more
Weighing the propriety of one of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) most critical law enforcement tools, last week the U.S. Supreme Court entertained arguments that the SEC should not be able to disgorge profits...more