Remarks made by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials at the March 2022 American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) National Institute on White Collar Crime (the White Collar Conference) reflect the DOJ’s prioritizing white...more
Since the publication of our February 26, 2022, client alert, the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, among other allied nations, have imposed additional sanctions and export controls on key elements of the...more
3/10/2022
/ Belarus ,
Blocking Sanctions ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SWIFT ,
Ukraine
The United States, United Kingdom and the European Union, among other allies, have moved swiftly in response to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. Merely hours after Russia’s announcement on February 21, 2022, that...more
The European Union Blocking Statute was originally adopted in 1996 to counteract US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Libya, but following a memorandum of understanding entered into between the EU and the US, it has seldom been...more
On December 6, 2021, the White House released "United States Strategy on Countering Corruption" (the Strategy Paper), which outlines the Biden administration's focus on fighting corruption as a core national security interest...more
Two new Chinese laws dealing with data security and privacy came into force in the fall of 2021 that are likely to have an impact on many multinational companies operating in China or whose operations touch China. These two...more
11/4/2021
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personal Information ,
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL)
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
To stay ahead of the feds, companies need to monitor their own data for possible compliance problems. Congress may soon give companies better visibility into their shareholder bases, including derivatives positions.
In this...more
10/8/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Biden Administration ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Mergers ,
Section 220 Request ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On 23 October 2019, the European Parliament and the European Council adopted the Whistleblower Protection Directive (Directive) to set a minimum standard for the protections EU member states must provide to whistleblowers. ...more
On 27 April 2021, the UK implemented its new Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regime, enhancing its existing Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, which came into force in July 2020. The new Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions...more
On April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14024, titled the “Executive Order on Blocking Property With Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation,” which...more
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
The U.K. adopted an autonomous financial sanctions regime when it exited the European Union on December 31, 2020. The U.K. and EU have both stated that they intend to coordinate post-Brexit sanctions policy as much as...more
On 23 October 2020, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) updated its Operational Handbook, publishing a new chapter on deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) (the Chapter). This note summarizes key points from the Chapter and...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
Though directed at prosecutors, the June 1, 2020, guidance on corporate compliance programs (Guidance) from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is a source of practical advice for in-house legal and compliance teams in...more
On July 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) jointly released the second edition of the “Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” which was...more
7/17/2020
/ Accounting Controls ,
Acquisitions ,
Co-Conspirators ,
Compliance ,
Conspiracies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Due Diligence ,
FCPA Resource Guide ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Instrumentality ,
Intent ,
Meals-Gifts-and Entertainment Rules ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third Party Payments ,
Travel
On June 1, 2020, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released updates to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs guidance (Guidance), last revised in April 2019. ...more
In the last 30 years, the U.S. Congress has enacted several laws enabling victims of terrorism to seek damages in U.S. federal courts. The central piece of legislation in this regard, the Antiterrorism Act of 1990 (ATA), has...more
5/27/2020
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Antiterrorism Act ,
Damages ,
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) ,
Foreign Sovereigns ,
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) ,
Opati v Republic of Sudan ,
Popular ,
Post-Judgment Enforcement Actions ,
Private Right of Action ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
Terrorist Acts
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)
In May 2019, the United States government made available a private right of action under Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 (also known as Helms-Burton), 22 U.S.C. §§ 6021-6091....more
Although U.S.-China bilateral tensions eased to a degree earlier this year with the signing of an interim trade agreement, fundamental differences remained. These differences — such as the role that China’s industrial policy...more
4/2/2020
/ Bilateral Agreements ,
China ,
China Initiative ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure To Disclose ,
False Statements ,
Mail Fraud ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Wire Fraud
While enforcement agencies have yet to indicate that they intend to put their pens down in response to COVID-19, there is anecdotal evidence that some agencies have slowed their investigations as remote working impacts matter...more
3/31/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Market ,
Disruptive Trading Practices ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Markets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
France ,
Market Abuse ,
Risk Management ,
Social Distancing ,
Tax Evasion ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 6, 2019, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson or the Company), resolved long-running investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the...more
1/3/2020
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Books & Records ,
Bribery ,
Calculation of Penalties ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ericsson ,
Failure to Comply ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Illegal Profits ,
Internal Controls ,
Penalties ,
Penalty Reductions ,
Pre-Judgment Interest ,
Public Contracts ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Remediation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Subsidiaries ,
Telecommunications ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
White Collar Crimes