In a recent interview with Law360, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal reiterated the agency’s commitment to the encouragement of voluntary self-reporting, going as far as to say that...more
Building on the recent passage of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), at the American Bar Association’s 2024 National Institute on White Collar Crime conference in San Francisco earlier this month (2024 ABA...more
3/19/2024
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Fraud ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
After years of explicitly warning taxpayers that failing to report or underreporting income from transactions involving digital assets would lead to criminal charges, federal prosecutors are now beginning to follow through on...more
2/23/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Income Taxes ,
Indictments ,
IRS ,
Required Forms ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Returns ,
Virtual Currency
Adding to federal prosecutors’ tool kit in fighting global corruption, on December 14, 2023, Congress passed with bipartisan support, the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA). As part of the National Defense Authorization...more
1/5/2024
/ Amended Legislation ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Extortion ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Jurisdiction ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Public Officials ,
Transparency
Crypto Firms Announce Initiatives in Payments, Mining, DAOs and More -
Recent reports provided details on new developments across the cryptocurrency market...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ), IRS Criminal Investigations (CI) and international tax authorities continue to prosecute tax abuses related to digital asset transactions. In imposing a multiyear prison sentence in a recent...more
Long-awaited enforcement actions may be coming soon for those who took advantage of the lucrative tax breaks offered by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico without meeting the requirements. Prosecutions may also follow for...more
7/27/2023
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Puerto Rico ,
Relief Measures ,
Residency Requirements ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Technology Sector ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In late March, attendees gathered in Washington, D.C., for the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s 71st Annual Spring Meeting, including officials from state, federal and international antitrust enforcement agencies. These enforcers...more
4/24/2023
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Annual Meeting ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Criminal Antitrust Litigation ,
Data Preservation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Monopolization ,
No-Poaching ,
State Antitrust Claims ,
State Attorneys General ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White Collar Crimes
Takeaways:
..2022 IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report highlights significant prosecutions and identifies cryptocurrency as an area of top priority heading into 2023.
..Criminal Investigation Chief Jim Lee...more
Despite back-to-back losses in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) first-ever criminal no-poach and wage-fixing cases, the Antitrust Division (the Division) is not backing down from its enforcement focus on labor. In...more
Key Takeaways:
..The IRS issued its fourth John Doe summons against digital asset platform sFOX, seeking information regarding user identity and transaction activity over $20,000.
..The use of John Doe summonses...more
8/22/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Criminal Liability ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
IRS ,
John Doe Investigation ,
Summons ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Liability ,
Virtual Currency
Firms Announce New Crypto Initiatives; Data Published on Crypto and NFT Use -
Late last week, a major U.S. cryptocurrency custodian announced “a groundbreaking, industry-first custody exchange network giving institutions...more
6/20/2022
/ Australia ,
Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
First Amendment ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Scams ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
Key Takeaways -
..Taxpayers could be criminally and civilly liable under state False Claims Act statutes for underreporting income linked to virtual currency.
..While the federal False Claims Act explicitly excludes tax...more
5/24/2022
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Fraud ,
Whistleblowers
On April 4, 2022, Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter delivered remarks at the 2022 Competition Enforcers Summit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announcing changes to the Antitrust Division’s (Division)...more
4/14/2022
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Leniency Programs ,
Plea Agreements ,
Remediation ,
Restitution ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sherman Act
A large U.S.-based financial services company launched its crypto services arm last week, providing consumers with a platform to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to reports, the...more
3/21/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Digital Wallets ,
Ethereum ,
Extradition ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Ransomware ,
Retirement Plan
On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET” or “Team”) to tackle investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of...more
CBDCs Explored by the U.K., New Zealand and Major Payments Network - This week, the Bank of England and Her Majesty’s Treasury announced the members appointed to its central bank digital currency (CBDC) Engagement and...more