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Welcome to Global Investigations & Compliance Review

By Benjamin Glassman and Rebecca Worthington on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Compliance Program, Industry Investigations, Uncategorized
This year has brought remarkable change around the globe – including new administrations, changing regulatory approaches, conflicts, and rapidly evolving global sanctions. Staying on top of how these changes impact businesses, individuals and sovereign entities is a challenge that Squire Patton Boggs’ Government Investigations & White Collar team is dedicated to helping our clients manage. … Continue Reading

Illicit Financing Risks in the Digital Assets Space: Department of the Treasury Releases Three Reports on Digital Assets and Invites Comment

By Rebecca Worthington, Richard Gibbon and Adam Klauder on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Anti-money laundering measures, anti-terrorism financing laws, bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, United States, US Treasury
On September 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) published three reports in response to a March 2022 Executive Order concerning the development of digital assets.  The reports address the future of money and payments; implications for consumers, investors, and businesses; and the illicit financing risks of digital assets.  Secretary Yellen described the … Continue Reading

Account Freezing and Forfeiture Orders: is the FCA waking up to its investigative powers?   

By Ben Ticehurst on Posted in Anti-corruption, bribery, Commercial Bribery, Government Investigation, United Kingdom
The author and editors would like to thank Eben Kurtz for his contributions to this post. On 21 April 2022, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) secured its first Account Forfeiture Order (“AFO”), a tool used for asset recovery under Part 5 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (”POCA”), for a sum of £2,000,000 against … Continue Reading

The UAE Continues to Combat Bribery and Corruption

By Richard Gibbon, Malak Abbas and Teresa Azzam on Posted in Anti-corruption, bribery, corruption, FATF, Fraud, United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (the “UAE”) continues to lead the Arab world in terms of its anti-bribery and corruption (“ABC”) endeavors. The UAE offers a business-friendly environment with an effective and efficient public administration; it criminalizes active and passive bribery, embezzlement, abuse of functions, and facilitation payments, it enforces its domestic ABC legislation and it … Continue Reading

Law Commission Proposes Reforms to Corporate Criminal Liability in the UK

By Ben Ticehurst on Posted in Anti-corruption, corruption, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), United Kingdom
The proposal outlines 10 possible ways to bolster UK corporate criminal liability. The UK Law Commission, has published their proposals (the Options Paper) to overhaul criminal law as it applies to companies in the UK. The Law Commission is an independent commission created by Parliament to keep UK law under review and to recommend reforms. … Continue Reading

What Price Privacy? UK Drive For Foreign Owners’ Transparency

By Ben Ticehurst on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Economic sanctions, Russia, UK Bribery Act
I wanted to take a moment to thank WealthBriefing.com for featuring my recent article “What Price Privacy?  UK Drive for Foreign Owners’ Transparency”. As the geopolitical landscape evolves and global financial sanctions take hold,  the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill introduced into UK law this month is worth reviewing.  Will the new legislation prevent … Continue Reading

Anti-Money Laundering Act Update: One Year In

By Rebecca Worthington on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 became law early in 2021, after a congressional override of then-President Trump’s veto.  Division F of the NDAA consists of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”).  The AMLA expands numerous Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) requirements, and FinCEN has continued to issue guidance, reports, and proposed … Continue Reading

The Biden Administration Announces Strategy to Combat Global Corruption

By Dimitar Georgiev on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, United States
On December 6, 2021, the White House (the “WH”) released the first United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (the “Strategy”) that sets the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to tackle international corruption. Much of the Strategy remains currently aspirational and requires additional legislative and regulatory action to implement. Still, it signals the direction the Administration is looking … Continue Reading

OFAC Releases Sanctions Compliance Guidance for the Virtual Currency Industry

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Anti-corruption, Sanctions
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently published sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry (the Guidance).  The move was long anticipated, given the rapid industry growth and limited regulator guidance in this space.  The Guidance provides an overview of OFAC sanctions requirements and procedures, including … Continue Reading

FinCEN Director Blanco Encourages Increased Communication During Global Pandemic

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, Compliance Program, COVID-19, cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, FinCEN, Fraud, Healthcare
In remarks to the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (“ACAMS”), Kenneth A. Blanco, the Director of the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), covered a number of high-priority topics, including FinCEN’s response to the pandemic, the latest COVID-19 related fraud schemes, emerging cyber threats, virtual currency issues, and important regulatory updates.  A theme … Continue Reading

SEC Approves Changes to Its Whistleblower Program

By Squire Patton Boggs on Posted in Anti-corruption, corporate compliance, Fraud, Government Investigation, Industry Investigations, Securities Litigation and Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Whistleblowing
This week, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) approved significant changes to the rules governing its whistleblower program.  The program, established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011, incentivizes those with information about possible securities law violations to report to the SEC.  If the tipster provides “high-quality original … Continue Reading

The White House Directs Federal Agencies to Focus on Fairness in Investigations and Enforcement

By Keith Bradley on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Compliance Program, COVID-19, Government Investigation, Industry Investigations, Securities Litigation and Enforcement, Uncategorized
On May 19, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump signed Executive Order 13924, to provide regulatory relief for entities economically impacted by the pandemic.  Section 6 of the Executive Order directed agencies to revise their procedures and practices in administrative investigations and enforcement in light of certain enumerated principles of fairness.  It … Continue Reading

FinCEN’s New Rule Impacts Banks Lacking a Federal Functional Regulator

By Rebecca Worthington on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, Compliance Program, FinCEN, US Treasury
On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a final rule  (“Rule”) requiring the minimum standards for anti-money laundering programs for certain institutions lacking a Federal functional regulator.  The Rule applies to banks that lack a Federal functional regulator, including, but not limited to, private banks, privately … Continue Reading

Executive Responsibilities and Consequences: A Case Study of Uber’s Data Breaches

By Colin Jennings and Ericka Johnson on Posted in Anti-corruption, cyberattack, cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, Department of Justice
Every organization is at risk of a data breach, and can learn something from Uber’s data privacy missteps. In an article for Corporate Compliance Insights, Squire Patton Boggs lawyers Colin Jennings, Ericka Johnson, and Dylan Yépez offer key takeaways from the company’s high-profile data breaches and the criminal charges that followed.      … Continue Reading

DOJ and SEC Release Second Edition to FCPA Resource Guide

By Colin Jennings and Ayako Russell on Posted in Anti-corruption, FCPA Jurisdiction, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Securities Litigation and Enforcement, US Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly released updated guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) before the Fourth of July holiday weekend.  Entitled A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition[1] (“Guide”), the Guide is the first update to the original document published … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Trims Wire Fraud Theory of Public Corruption in Bridgegate Decision

By Benjamin Glassman on Posted in Anti-corruption, Fraud
In Kelly v. United States, 590 U.S. — (May 7, 2020), the Supreme Court recently reversed the federal fraud convictions of former public officials Bridget Kelly and William Baroni arising out of the Bridgegate scandal.  The decision limits the applicability of the federal wire fraud statute to public corruption, and it will affect how such … Continue Reading

Judge Tosses FCPA Jury Verdict

By Chase Goldstein on Posted in Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, bribery, Department of Justice, FCPA Jurisdiction, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), US Department of Justice
On February 26, 2020, Judge Janet Bond Arterton, a federal judge for the District of Connecticut, overturned a former Alstom SA executive’s conviction under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) relating to a project to build power plants in Indonesia. Judge Arterton found that, despite a jury verdict to the contrary, prosecutors failed to prove … Continue Reading

2019 Year-end White Collar Updates

By Colin Jennings, Ayako Russell, Rebecca Worthington and Chase Goldstein on Posted in Anti-corruption, corporate compliance, Department of Justice
In 2019, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal regulators continued to emphasize the importance of effective compliance programs, self-disclosure of violations of the law and cooperation with regulators during investigations. In a new client alert out this week, we shed light on some of the updated guidance from various government agencies released last year, landmark state and … Continue Reading

False Claims Act Recoveries Back On The Rise

By Chase Goldstein on Posted in Anti-corruption, Department of Justice, False Claims Act (FCA), Fraud, US Department of Justice
After a dip in the 2018 fiscal year, False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments are back and climbing. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that it had obtained more than $3.05 billion from FCA settlements and judgments for the 2019 fiscal year. 2018 may have just been an aberration after the 2010s saw … Continue Reading

Recent South African Publication on Non-Profit Organizations and Financial Crimes

By Rebecca Worthington on Posted in Africa, Anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism financing laws
South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) recently issued a public compliance communication on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism relating to non-profit organizations (NPOs). The publication aimed to create “awareness within the NPO sector around the vulnerabilities that NPOs face,” and sets out Financial Action Task Force (FATF) principles relating to NPOs.… Continue Reading

Mexico Issues New Asset Forfeiture Law and Creates Special Forfeiture Unit

By Richard Gibbon and Jose Martin on Posted in Anti-corruption, Mexico
On August 9, 2019, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador passed legislation that added corruption to the catalogue of criminal conduct subject to asset forfeiture proceedings. Mexico’s new Ley Nacional de Extinción de Dominio (Asset Forfeiture Law), in conjunction with harmonizing amendments to the Código Nacional de Procedimientos Penales (National Code of Civil Procedure), empowers … Continue Reading
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