Since February 2022, the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union have imposed unprecedented economic sanctions on Russia and various Russian entities and individuals in response to the war in Ukraine.
Actions have...more
12/19/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Good Faith ,
Imports ,
Maritime Transport ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Safe Harbors ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The Biden Administration made clear in its recently released National Security Strategy (the “National Security Strategy”) that it intends to take new and aggressive approaches to protect U.S. national security.
The U.S....more
12/7/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
International Trade ,
Investment ,
National Security ,
ODNI ,
Semiconductors ,
Trade Policy ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On September 15, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order (the “CFIUS EO”) that provides clear signals to dealmakers regarding areas of heightened interest to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States...more
9/19/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Clean Energy ,
Cybersecurity ,
Due Diligence ,
Executive Orders ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) on August 8, 2022, imposed sanctions against the popular decentralized virtual currency mixer Tornado Cash alleging that it has been used to launder...more
9/16/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Blockchain ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Data Privacy ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Ethereum ,
Financial Transactions ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Sanctions ,
SDN List ,
State Sponsors of Cyberattacks ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wire Transfers
Key Takeaways -
The U.S. Congress (“Congress”) is considering the establishment of a new Committee on National Critical Capabilities (“CNCC”) to review and potentially mitigate or block outbound investments from the United...more
Background CFIUS is an interagency committee, principally comprising of nine members and chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, which has broad powers to review foreign investments in and acquisitions of U.S. businesses to...more
Key Takeaways -
A judge has issued an opinion in a first-of-its-kind criminal sanctions case involving the use of virtual currency to evade U.S. economic sanctions. The opinion reinforces the Treasury Department’s position...more
The national security and foreign direct investment (“FDI”) review landscape around the world is evolving rapidly. A pre-pandemic trend of active FDI reviews in countries around the world has gained momentum and resulted in...more
Background -
CFIUS is an interagency committee, principally comprising nine members and chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, which has broad powers to review foreign investments in and acquisitions of U.S. businesses...more
At a New York City Bar Association event on April 27, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco described economic sanctions as “the new FCPA.” Her characterization should put corporate compliance departments on notice. ...more
5/6/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
FCPA Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Military Conflict ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
Russia continues to introduce restrictive and other measures following the imposition of sanctions by the USA, EU, UK and other countries on Russia....more
3/14/2022
/ Counter Sanctions ,
Debt ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Persons ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Information Technology ,
International Trade ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
In response to the economic sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia by the US, EU, UK and other major economies, Russia imposed measures and countermeasures....more
Background As noted in our prior update, the United States, European Union and United Kingdom imposed a number of sanctions in connection with Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. ...more
2/28/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
On February 23, 2022, the Department of Justice announced that it would no longer be grouping cases under the "China Initiative" rubric, citing the "harmful perception" of racial or ethnic bias the use of that nomenclature...more
Russia's Actions -
On February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two executive orders recognizing the DNR/LNR Regions as “sovereign and independent states.”...more
2/23/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Person ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
On February 15, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published an initial set of regulations to implement sanctions targeting investments in Chinese Military-Industrial Complex...more
As concerns continue to build between Russia and the West over the situation in Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom are preparing measures that could be utilized if diplomacy is...more
The United States, Russia, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (“OSCE”) held a series of talks this week aimed at de-escalating the situation at the...more
1/14/2022
/ CAATSA ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Policy ,
International Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NATO ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Sovereign Debt ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine ,
US Trade Policies
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF"), the global money laundering and terrorist financing (“ML/TF”) watchdog, recently issued updated guidance related to compliance risks resulting from activities involving Virtual Assets...more
12/22/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FATF ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Update ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk-Based Approaches ,
Stablecoins ,
Virtual Currency
Key Takeaways -
Historically, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) did not provide country-wide exemptions from applicable regulations governing national security reviews...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas recently recognized new constitutional and extraterritorial limits on the FCPA. In an order entered November 10, 2021, the court held that it lacked...more
12/3/2021
/ Bribery ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Process ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Agents ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Kickbacks ,
Money Laundering ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Vagueness ,
White Collar Crimes
In recent weeks, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has issued guidance regarding both virtual currency and ransomware, demonstrating the agency’s enforcement priorities and compliance...more
Key Takeaways - On October 3, 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released the “Pandora Papers,” which expose the use by political leaders, billionaires, and others of offshore entities in an...more
Key Takeaways -
On July 26, 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), published its Annual Report to Congress on key activities,...more
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order to modify sanctions initially imposed by former President Trump regarding investments in Chinese companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military. The new...more