When the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Act) came into force, it was considered a landmark legal development globally. The UK was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce a legal requirement concerning transparency in supply...more
9/19/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Human Rights ,
Human Trafficking ,
International Trade ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
The UK government introduced a major overhaul of its framework for addressing financial crime — and brought into force numerous significant changes — when the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the Act)...more
9/12/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Entities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Failure to Prevent ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Strict Liability ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On 31 July 2024, the UK government broadened its Russian sanctions regime, giving the government express power to impose sanctions on persons who provide financial services, or make available funds, economic resources, goods...more
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in unprecedent judicial scrutiny of the UK’s sanctions regulations. While the judgments delivered in many cases have provided companies with needed certainty on some topics, the...more
In Nuctech Warsaw (T-284/24), the EU Court of Justice held that EU subsidiaries can lawfully be required to provide access to email accounts and data held by their overseas parent company. The ruling involved the following...more
8/26/2024
/ Appeals ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division launched the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (the Program), following up on its announcement in March 2024 of a plan to offer whistleblower awards....more
8/6/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Government Agencies ,
Pilot Programs ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The UK Court of Appeal recently held that the National Crime Agency’s decision not to investigate whether cotton goods manufactured in China and imported to the UK were the product of forced labour was unlawful — a decision...more
7/8/2024
/ Appeals ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Imports ,
International Trade ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Popular ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Supply Chain ,
UK
On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the main federal anti-corruption statute proscribing bribes to state and local officials does not criminalize gratuities, which the Court described as “payments made to an...more
7/3/2024
/ Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Fraud ,
Illegal Gratuities ,
Mayors ,
Public Corruption ,
Public Officials ,
Public Servants ,
SCOTUS ,
Snyder v United States ,
Undue Influence Claims
Historically, multinational companies and those lobbying on their behalf mostly concerned themselves with the U.S. and Canadian legal frameworks for lobbying. But more and more jurisdictions are establishing increasingly...more
Below is a summary of recent developments and enforcement trends in the UK white collar crime space in the first quarter of 2024.
I. New Legislation -
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA)...more
On March 26, 2024, the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) published a guide on how to engage in corporate sponsorship and charitable donation activities while appropriately mitigating corruption risks (the Guide)...more
5/13/2024
/ AFA ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Charitable Donations ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
EU ,
France ,
Internal Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sponsorship Agreements ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law a high-profile package of national security legislation (Public Law 118-50). While most press reports focused on the spending elements of the package (appropriating funds...more
5/3/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Asset Seizure ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Joe Biden ,
Legislative Agendas ,
National Security ,
New Legislation ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
On April 15, 2024, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Criminal Division unveiled a new Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosures for Individuals that offers non-prosecution agreements (NPAs) to individuals who voluntarily...more
4/24/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 7, 2024, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will soon launch a new monetary reward program for people who provide information about corporate or financial...more
On 22 February 2024, shortly before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK government published its first sanctions strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy explains the UK’s use and implementation of...more
3/12/2024
/ Belarus ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
International Trade ,
Licensing Rules ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On 26 October 2023, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the Act) became law in the UK. The Act represents a major overhaul of the UK government’s framework for tackling financial crime and has brought into...more
2/26/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
Investigations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearing the end of its second year, the United Kingdom has continued to introduce sanctions measures against Russia, with the latest round announced on 14 December 2023....more
1/22/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Licenses ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On January 10, 2024, Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), announced the creation of that office’s Whistleblower Pilot Program (Program). This initiative provides notice of the...more
1/18/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
New York ,
Pilot Programs ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
State Funding ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) as part of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. FEPA criminalizes demand-side bribery by foreign officials...more
1/9/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Extortion ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Hobbs Act ,
NDAA ,
White Collar Crimes
Representatives from the French and U.S. governments, judiciary and private sector discussed early lessons from the 2022 reform of the so-called French “blocking statute” at a Skadden roundtable in Paris on 27 November...more
In a speech on October 24, 2023, the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Enforcement Division, Gurbir Grewal, described the scenarios in which the commission would bring an enforcement action against...more
In the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) latest effort to promote voluntary self-disclosure of corporate misconduct by companies, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco has announced guidance regarding a new safe harbor...more
10/5/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In recent remarks, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General (PADAG) Marshall Miller of the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will soon announce new voluntary self-disclosure...more
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) National Security Division (NSD), the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign...more
8/1/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
DOJ Increases Resources To Investigate and Prosecute Sanctions Evasion and Export Control Violations -
On March 2, 2023, during a keynote speech at the American Bar Association’s annual White Collar Crime National...more
3/17/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Entities ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure