On May 13, 2024, President Biden, acting on a transaction referred to him from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), took the unusual step of ordering the prohibition of a real estate acquisition...more
The Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”), which became effective on January 1, 2024, requires certain domestic and foreign companies doing business in the United States to file a beneficial ownership report with the U.S....more
4/18/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Overview -
A recent spate of cases on both sides of the Atlantic in 2023 show that criminal enforcement and asset recovery proceedings stemming from the iconic Brazilian anti-corruption investigation, Operation “Car Wash”...more
On February 22, 2023, the United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAO) issued a new Voluntary Self-Disclosure (VSD) Policy, which is effective immediately. The policy follows the revisions announced last month to the Department of...more
On December 13, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “U.S. Attorney’s Office”), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the...more
12/16/2022
/ Campaign Contributions ,
CFTC ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Investors ,
Extradition ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Trading Platforms ,
Wire Fraud
In an unwelcome reminder of the events that unfolded in the wake of the May 2022 crypto market collapse, Bahamian-based crypto exchange FTX is reportedly on the brink of collapse following an unexpected surge in...more
In a decision that likely will reverberate throughout the administrative state, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held in Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission...more
I. A Growing Risk -
The United States, along with the United Kingdom and European Union, has increasingly wielded economic sanctions against major commercial actors and financial transactions, sometimes roiling global...more
3/3/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Blocking Statutes ,
Derivatives ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Transactions ,
Global Market ,
ISDA ,
Popular ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
After three years of uncertainty over the Serious Fraud Office’s (“SFO”) powers to obtain documents located overseas, the UK Supreme Court has clarified the extraterritorial effect of the legislation facilitating that power...more
2/25/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Comity ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Document Productions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Entities ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
The First Circuit’s recent decision in New Hampshire Lottery Commission v. Rosen holds that the Wire Act’s prohibitions on interstate activity apply only to sports betting, and not to all types of bets and wagers, such as...more
On January 1, 2021, Congress enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “Act”). As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, the Act creates a broad range of new anti-money laundering...more
Foreign investment has been ripe for legislative change in the United Kingdom. The latest development came on 11 November 2020, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the National Security and Investment Bill 2020 (the...more
On July 21, 2020, the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament published the Russia Report (the Report). The Report found that the UK was one of Russia’s “top Western intelligence targets” and that the UK government...more
The national security implications of corporate deals involving foreign investors continues to be a headline-grabbing topic, now more than ever as the United States engages in heated trade negotiations with China amidst...more
8/1/2019
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Financial Transactions ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation
While the past year, or even eighteen months, was short on landmark federal securities law decisions, there was significant activity on the part of private securities litigants. In 2018, plaintiffs filed 403 new federal...more
5/13/2019
/ China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Cybersecurity ,
Emulex Corp. v Varjabedian ,
Government Investigations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
White Collar Crimes
Will 2019 be the year that federal lawmakers block U.S. law enforcement and regulatory agencies from enforcing marijuana prohibitions in states where marijuana is legal and finally resolve the divergence between state and...more
4/9/2019
/ Banking Regulators ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Depository Institutions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Money Laundering ,
Proposed Legislation
The securities litigation and regulatory landscape in 2017 defies simple categorization. Plaintiffs filed 226 new federal class actions in the first half of 2017, more than double the average rate over the last 20 years, and...more
1/8/2018
/ Basic v Levinson ,
CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Class Action ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indemnification ,
Insider Trading ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Martoma ,
Omnicare v Laborers District Council ,
Petrobras ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
In its latest effort to combat money laundering within the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has issued a new Geographic Targeting Order (“GTO”) broadening its scrutiny of shell companies...more
Creating a potential new impediment for collaboration between UK and US investigators, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York recently held that evidence derived from compelled testimony cannot be used in a...more
7/26/2017
/ Bank Fraud ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Inadmissible Evidence ,
Libor ,
Market Manipulation ,
Rabobank ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Self-Incrimination ,
Testimony ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives threatens to shake up the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement program in a historic manner....more
6/12/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Investigations ,
Pending Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Wells Notice ,
White Collar Crimes
On 5 April 2017, the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (the “Department”) issued a call for evidence (the “proposal”) for a public register (the “foreign ownership register”) which would contain...more
Even before President Trump’s nomination of Jay Clayton as the next Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”), signs have been appearing that changes are afoot within the Division of...more
3/7/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Deregulation ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
On 17 January 2017, the UK Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”),[1] the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”),[2] and the Brazilian Ministério Público Federal (“MPF”) announced an $800 million global settlement with Rolls-Royce plc and...more
1/23/2017
/ Angola ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Automotive Industry ,
Azerbaijan ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Officials ,
Kazakhstan ,
Oil & Gas ,
Penalties ,
Pipelines ,
Rolls-Royce ,
SFO ,
Thailand ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
The constitutionality of the SEC’s in-house administrative proceedings is in doubt following the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Bandimere v. SEC. In Bandimere, a three-judge panel held, by a 2-1 decision, that SEC...more
Friends and relatives of corporate insiders who knowingly receive and trade on inside information now confront greater exposure for federal securities laws violations. On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court held in United...more
12/9/2016
/ Confidential Information ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Financial Markets ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Tippees ,
Tippers ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman ,
White Collar Crimes