The May 12, 2025, memo from the head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Criminal Division highlights 10 “high-impact” areas as the focus of DOJ’s criminal enforcement efforts. (See our May 14, 2025, client alert “In a New...more
5/16/2025
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Fraud ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Government Agencies ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
White Collar Crimes
The first 100 days of a new administration sets the tone for policy direction and regulatory priorities. The following key takeaways from the Trump administration’s first three months highlight significant trends, shifts and...more
5/7/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
CFIUS ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, to pause Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) actions for 180 days until she issues revised FCPA...more
2/13/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On August 16, 2023, OFAC announced a $660,594 settlement with Construction Specialties Inc. (CS) for alleged violations of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR). OFAC found that CS’s wholly controlled...more
9/6/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employees ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanctions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Whistleblowers
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
In 2022, we saw steep drops in the U.S. stock market, comparable to the bursting of the dot-com bubble of 2000-01 and the crash set off by the global financial crisis of 2007-09. Additionally, cryptocurrency markets have lost...more
12/15/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Downturn ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Popular ,
Recessions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Markets
In a recently published memorandum, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced important updates to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) approach to investigating and prosecuting corporate crimes. In the...more
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Justice released four much-anticipated reports on different aspects of cryptoasset regulation. They confirm the Biden administration’s broad but...more
9/29/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
U.S. Treasury
Key Points and Practical Advice In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the China Initiative, launched in November 2018 to counter perceived threats to U.S. national security from China, was...more
On February 23, 2022, Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Matthew Olsen, the head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD), announced that a review of the China Initiative begun under the Trump...more
This issue discusses a variety of legal, regulatory and enforcement developments in the digital asset space in the U.S. and Europe, including expanded reporting requirements for broadly defined cryptocurrency “brokers,” a...more
8/27/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
BitMEX ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Smart Contracts
The Biden administration is widely expected to be tougher on corporate wrongdoing than its predecessor. Although there have not yet been significant changes to existing policies, key nominations to date and early enforcement...more
4/30/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
This issue discusses a variety of legal, regulatory and enforcement developments in the digital asset space in the U.S. and Europe....more
4/19/2021
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethereum ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Virtual Currency
Democrats retained control of the House in November 2020, though the party enjoys a notably smaller majority after losing several seats to Republicans. Additionally, after Democrats prevailed in both runoff elections in...more
Recent and significant regulatory and legislative events in the digital asset space demonstrate the evolving and expanding approach by U.S. and international regulators to the burgeoning digital asset markets. These...more
10/31/2020
/ Banks ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivatives ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Global Market ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
OCC ,
OECD ,
Offshore Listings ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restricted Transactions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Tokens ,
Smart Contracts ,
Stablecoins ,
Summary Judgment ,
Taxation ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
On August 31, 2020, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued a memorandum to all executive departments and agencies on reforming regulatory enforcement...more
10/14/2020
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Best Practices ,
Burden of Proof ,
CFTC ,
Civil Liability ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
OMB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Review
Former U.S. attorney Jessie K. Liu recently joined Skadden from her role overseeing the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., which is not only the largest in the country but also home to one of the busiest Civil...more