The Offence and Penalty -
On 8 May 2025, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published its 11 April 2025 notice of its first-ever monetary penalty for an information offence relating to financial...more
5/19/2025
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
National Security ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Penalties ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
UK
Revisions to Department of Justice (DOJ) white collar enforcement policies provide enhanced incentives for voluntary self-disclosure and clarify the consequences of failing to disclose wrongdoing. At the same time, expanded...more
5/16/2025
/ Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The UK’s sanctions regimes remain dynamic as they continue to respond to geopolitical changes. In recent weeks, the UK has enhanced its Russia sanctions, despite the uncertain direction of the international sanctions on...more
5/7/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
HM Treasury ,
National Security ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Syria ,
UK
The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its sanctions policy toward Russia by implementing two rounds of restrictive measures that are intended to further intensify pressure on Russia’s government and economy. Specifically,...more
3/18/2025
/ Asset Freeze ,
Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Bans ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Trade ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The future of international sanctions on Russia is not settled. Whilst the representatives of the US and Russia met in Saudi Arabia on 18 February 2025 to discuss possible avenues to peace in Ukraine, the foreign ministers of...more
2/25/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK
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
The past weeks and months have brought about tremendous political change in the West, as we move toward a new U.S. administration, a new College of Commissioners in Brussels and a new Polish presidency of the Council of the...more
11/13/2024
/ Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Middle East ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
US Trade Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On 27 September 2024, the UK’s financial sanctions regulator, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), announced that it had issued its first monetary penalty for a breach of UK financial sanctions imposed...more
On 12 September 2024, the UK government published The Trade, Aircraft and Shipping Sanctions (Civil Enforcement) Regulations 2024 (Regulations) which, among other things, set out the powers of the new Office of Trade...more
9/25/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
International Trade ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sanctions ,
Trade Policy ,
UK
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
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
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
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
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
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
On February 22, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) adopted a new policy that establishes a national standard for voluntary self-disclosure credit in corporate criminal enforcement actions brought by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices...more
On January 17, 2023, U.S. law enforcement authorities in Miami arrested Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national and the founder and majority owner of Hong Kong-based virtual currency exchange Bitzlato Ltd., on charges of money...more
2/7/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Law Enforcement ,
Money Laundering ,
NDAA ,
Patriot Act ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
On January 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced revisions to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy. The revisions follow Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco’s September 2022...more
1/24/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Commodities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
White Collar Crimes
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
In one of the first substantive speeches on corporate criminal enforcement under the Biden administration, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced on October 28, 2021, several immediate changes to Department of Justice...more
11/3/2021
/ Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Controls ,
Internal Investigations ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Risk Assessment ,
White Collar Crimes
The Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Joe Biden is widely expected to increase its focus on white collar enforcement actions against individuals and financial institutions. We anticipate that we will see, as we did...more
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
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020, provided for the establishment and expansion of a range of economic assistance programs designed to help...more
5/15/2020
/ Banks ,
CARES Act ,
Congressional Oversight ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Fraud ,
GAO ,
Government Investigations ,
Inspector General ,
Law Enforcement ,
Lenders ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Risk Management ,
SBA ,
SIGPR
Addressing the Evolving Risks -
Warren Buffett said that “only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” Buffett was not talking about compliance programs in a time of crisis, but his wisdom applies...more
5/2/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Distress ,
Financial Fraud ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Market Manipulation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)