DOJ sets out new enforcement priorities for corporate and white-collar crime and emphasizes “focus, fairness and efficiency.”...more
As discussed in Bracewell’s February 11 and February 26 updates, the executive branch is prioritizing the “total elimination” of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, both through edicts from the Oval Office and...more
4/3/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cartels ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Mexico ,
Money Laundering ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Terrorist Organizations ,
Trump Administration
Shortly after President Trump’s second inauguration, his executive branch took steps to further one of his signature promises: securing the southern border. While these actions primarily impact immigration laws, several...more
After years of suggesting that modifications were in the works, the Department of Justice recently proposed drastic changes to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that would, among other things, profoundly limit one of...more
1/3/2025
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Governments ,
Lobbying ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Political Parties ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Social Media ,
Transparency ,
Websites
As we wrote earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) made significant news at the recent American Bar Association White Collar Conference. But the Department didn’t stop at announcing its pilot whistleblower...more
3/28/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Data Protection ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Penalties ,
Recidivism ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
In recent years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has rolled out a significant and increasing number of carrots and sticks aimed at deterring and punishing white collar crime. Speaking at the American Bar Association White...more
3/13/2024
/ CFTC ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Misconduct ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Incentives ,
IRS ,
Qui Tam ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
As lawyers, corporate executives and federal law enforcement officials prepare to gather this week in San Francisco for the ABA’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime, we offer our takeaways from January’s Houston...more
3/5/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Cannabis Products ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Incentives ,
Investment ,
Market Manipulation ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
San Francisco ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
The Department of Justice has published — and continues to update and emphasize — a set of practical guidelines on what it views as an effective compliance program and how it makes decisions about bringing charges and...more
12/28/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Ethics ,
Executive Orders ,
Good Faith ,
Machine Learning ,
Transparency
The past few months have seen numerous high-profile enforcement actions highlighting an increasing trend, what Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco called “the biggest shift in corporate criminal enforcement that I’ve seen...more
12/5/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investigations ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Recidivism ,
Remediation ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Terrorist Financing ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a new DOJ charging and sentencing policy memorandum, replacing existing guidance to federal prosecutors in their exercise of prosecutorial discretion. The thrust of the...more
Late last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced material changes to the way it intended to investigate, prosecute, and resolve corporate cases. The changes were aggressive, leading us to title our update “DOJ’s...more
9/22/2022
/ Audits ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Individual Accountability ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Assessment ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
On May 19, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced significant clarifications to its policy on charging Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) violations that give some comfort to cyber security consultants who...more
6/9/2022
/ Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Good Faith ,
Hackers ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Van Buren v United States
Amid the escalating conflict in Ukraine and concerns of Russian cyber threats to the United States, President Joe Biden recently signed a $1.5 trillion government spending deal with serious cybersecurity reporting obligations...more
3/17/2022
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ,
Joe Biden ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
“Know your customer” is a bed rock principle of anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, but it’s not always easy, particularly as more sophisticated and aggressive players have taken the field in recent...more
3/16/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
FinTech ,
Know Your Customers ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
Shell Corporations ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Ukraine
Last week we wrote about the three-pronged attack that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will use to get more aggressive in prosecuting cases and how they punish corporate offenders. Now, the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
Last week, at a gathering of the nation’s top white collar criminal defense attorneys in Miami, Florida, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced material changes to the way the Department of Justice will investigate,...more
In keeping with the United States government’s expanding scrutiny of cryptocurrency markets, the DOJ recently announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (the “NCET”). The NCET endeavors to add a...more
10/27/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Virtual Currency