On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (E.O.) addressing certain outbound investments by U.S. persons in certain sensitive or advanced technologies or products involving certain “countries of concern.”...more
8/11/2023
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) 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...more
8/3/2023
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On July 20, 2023, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”) designated additional entities in order to further disrupt Russian access to military supplies and deprive the Russian government of...more
On July 16, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree seizing control of the Russian subsidiaries of the French food-products company, Danone S.A., and Danish brewer, Carlsberg A/S, claiming the assets were being...more
On May 19, 2023, the United States along with other members of the G7 and other allied countries imposed additional sanctions and export controls meant to further restrict Russian economic activity and degrade Russia’s...more
6/5/2023
/ Aircraft ,
Belarus ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Research and Development ,
Russia ,
Technology Sector ,
Transportation Industry ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
Ukraine ,
US Department of State ,
Vessels
On April 28, 2023, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachel Rollins, joined by national and local federal enforcement officials from the Disruptive Technology Strike Force (DTSF), described the DTSF mission and...more
The centrality of international trade laws in the development and execution of U.S. foreign policy has never been more evident than in 2022. Companies that have not invested in international trade compliance programs are...more
4/21/2023
/ Belarus ,
Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Human Rights ,
International Trade ,
Iran ,
National Security ,
Nicaragua ,
Russia ,
Trade Restrictions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
US Department of State ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) ,
Venezuela ,
Virtual Currency ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
U.S. Policy Developments -
Since the fall of 2022, DOJ has made several policy pronouncements in connection with its efforts to combat corporate crime. While it remains to be seen how these policies will ultimately affect...more
4/5/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FATF ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Remediation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
In order to continue restricting Russia’s ability to finance war efforts against Ukraine, on February 3, 2023, the G7 nations implemented two new price caps on seaborne petroleum products that originate in Russia (“Russian...more
CFIUS reviewed a record number of transactions in 2021 according to its most recent annual report – and shows no signs of slowing down.
High technology (including quantum computing), life sciences, and green energy...more
2/9/2023
/ Aerospace ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Biotechnology ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Clean Energy ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Processors ,
Defense Production Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Infrastructure ,
Insurance Industry ,
International Trade ,
Life Sciences ,
National Security ,
OSTP ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications
Earlier in January 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for the first time since 2017. In his speech...more
2/1/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Mergers ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
White Collar Crimes
It has been a tumultuous year for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and its recent no-poach criminal prosecution strategy. No-poach agreements, which are arrangements between companies that place restrictions on the hiring...more
12/23/2022
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Venture ,
No-Poaching ,
Popular ,
Wage-Fixing ,
White Collar Crimes
Following the initial announcement in September 2022 by the Group of Seven Nations (“G7”) that they would set a price cap on Russian-origin oil and petroleum products, the U.S., the EU, and the UK have moved to implement the...more
U.S. augments current sanctions on Nicaragua by imposing additional sanctions on the Nicaraguan mining authority and the former Nicaraguan head of state security, and expanding sanctions authorities allowing the U.S. to...more
Abortion was a key issue for voters in the midterm elections, with voters in California, Vermont and Michigan voting in favor of constitutional amendments that will strengthen abortion protections, and voters in Kentucky and...more
I. Additional Export Controls on Russia and Belarus -
(a) Export restrictions on a wide range of EAR99 items -
Effective September 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)...more
9/27/2022
/ Belarus ,
Expiration Date ,
Export Controls ,
Extensions ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil Prices ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
U.S. Commerce Department
Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York recently charged Nathan Chastain with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a purported scheme to illegally profit from sales and purchases of...more
9/13/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
On August 12, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a 2-1 decision affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut to partly overturn the conviction of Lawrence Hoskins...more
8/23/2022
/ Acquittals ,
Alstom ,
Appeals ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Money Laundering ,
White Collar Crimes
President Biden issues a new executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission to take steps to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare services, protect patient...more
I. OFAC Prohibits Gold Importation from the Russian Federation -
Implementing the declaration of G-7 leaders on June 26, 2022, the United States has joined the UK, Canada and Japan in prohibiting the importation of newly...more
I. OFAC Publishes FAQs Addressing Ban on New Investment in Russia On April 6, 2022, President Biden signed Executive Order (“EO”) 14071, which prohibits all “new investment in the Russian Federation by a United States...more
June 23, 2022 Key Takeaways: In two recent speeches, Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”), has signaled policy changes related to...more
6/23/2022
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Sanctions ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
U.S. Commerce Department
BIS Imposes New Export Controls on Certain Industrial EAR99 Items -
Currently, all items on the Export Administration Regulations’ (“EAR“) Commerce Control List (“CCL”) require a license for export, re-export or transfer...more
6/14/2022
/ Belarus ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Entity List ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
General Licenses ,
Imports ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
I. U.S. Persons Prohibited from Providing Accounting, Trust and Corporate Formation, and Management Consulting Services to Russia -
On May 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
U.S. Actions Following increased sanctions on Russian banks and a new Executive Order banning investment in the Russian Federation (reported by Foley Hoag here), on April 7, 2022, the U.S. sanctioned two major Russian...more