Trump Pauses FCPA Enforcement and Resets Priorities

On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled, “Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security” (“FCPA EO”) that directs the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 78dd-1 et seq.) (“FCPA”) for 180 days until new Attorney General (“AG”) Pam Bondi issues new FCPA guidelines and policies on enforcement. The FCPA EO seeks to eliminate “excessive barriers to American commerce abroad,” states that current FCPA enforcement has been “stretched beyond proper bounds and abused in a manner that harms the interests of the United States,” and states that “overexpansive and unpredictable FCPA enforcement against American citizens and businesses . . . actively harms American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security.”

For the uninitiated, the FCPA is a criminal statute enacted in 1977, which the DOJ and U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have employed to impose over $31 billion in penalties over the last 48 years, as well as secure scores of criminal convictions. During the Biden Administration alone, the DOJ and SEC imposed total penalties over $4 billion under the FCPA, so the fact that President Trump just stopped the DOJ from enforcing the FCPA with a stroke of a pen was a change in the enforcement landscape to say the least.

Update on the Proposed Amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act Regulations

By Clark Ervin on February 11, 2025 Posted in China, Corruption, Department of Justice, General, Government Investigation, Iran, Russia, United States, US Department of Justice

On her very first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a sweeping memorandum laying out what the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) enforcement priorities will be going forward under her leadership. It seems that the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) will not be among those priorities, or, at least, the focus of FARA criminal enforcement efforts will be much narrower than it was during not only the Biden Administration but also the first Trump Administration.

UK Sanctions Update: New OFSI Reporting Requirements for High Value Dealers and Art Market Participants

By Richard Gibbon and Katy Fisher on February 11, 2025 Posted in Anti-corruption, Anti-money laundering measures, Compliance Program, Corporate compliance, Corruption, Courts, Economic sanctions, General, Government Investigation, Industry Investigations, Russia, Sanctions, Sanctions, United Kingdom

Late in 2024, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”), the agency within His Majesty’s Treasury that is charged with the implementation of financial sanctions in the UK, introduced new sanction measures aimed generally at augmenting the operation and enforcement of UK financial sanctions and targeted specifically at High Value Dealers (“HVDs”) and Art Market Participants (“AMPs”).

These new measures come into force in May 2025—just two months from now—making time very much of the essence.

To Disclose or Not to Disclose (and how much) – That is the Question

By Colin Jennings and Lauryn Durham on January 28, 2025 Posted in Compliance Program, Corporate compliance, Courts, Cyberattack, Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, Department of Justice, General, Government Investigation, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

The decision-making process involved in disclosing a cyber incident is a nuanced and delicate dance. Companies need to consider a myriad of factors, including when to disclose and how much detail to disclose to employees, customers, or regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

A New York bank was recently forced to pay over $3.5 million to settle allegations that it minimized the extent of a cybersecurity incident in its SEC filings and public notices to customers. According to the SEC, the bank was negligent in making “materially misleading statements” regarding a cybersecurity incident involving the bank’s network between November 22, 2021 and December 25, 2021.

DOGE and a New Senate Caucus May Further Empower Inspectors General

By Clark Ervin on January 22, 2025 Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Department of Justice, General, Government Investigation, Technology, U.S. Congress, United States, US Department of Justice, US Treasury

In the flurry of developments last week in the run-up to the inauguration, it was easy to overlook one that could have significant and positive impact by making government more effective, efficient, and economical.

On January 17, 2025, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced the launch of a bipartisan Inspector General Caucus. The other members of the caucus are Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), and James Lankford (R-OK). Quoting Senator Ernst, “Inspectors General serve a vital role in uncovering waste in Washington and must be empowered to continue looking out for taxpayers.” Quoting Senator Hassan, “Inspectors General play a critical role in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government and the bipartisan Congressional Inspectors General Caucus will help build support for the important work that Inspectors General do.” Quoting a representative of the Inspector General community, Mike Ware, the Chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, “The Federal IG community looks forward to working with the bipartisan IG Caucus and Congressional leaders to enhance efforts to detect and prevent waste, fraud, abuse, improve government efficiency, and deliver for the American public.” Ware, who also serves as the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration and as the Acting Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, noted in a press release that the IG community’s work last year alone identified savings in federal programs of more than $93 billion, suggesting that there are even more savings to be found if IGs are given additional authority and resources to find them.

Time is of the Essence to Implement New ADGM Whistleblower Protection Regulations

By Richard Gibbon, Malak Abbas and Molly McKenna on January 21, 2025 Posted in Anti-corruption, Compliance Program, Corporate compliance, Corruption, General, Middle East, United Arab Emirates, Whistleblowing

In 2024, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) further enhanced transparency, accountability, and market integrity within the financial freezone by introducing the Whistleblower Protection Regulations 2024 (the “Regulations”). In brief, those Regulations require certain entities registered or licensed to operate or conduct any activity within the ADGM to implement arrangements for handling whistleblowing, including having appropriate written policies and procedures, and to maintain related records for at least six years. The Regulations also afforded the Registrar of the ADGM the power to issue censures, impose financial penalties, or suspend or withdraw licenses for contraventions.

Importantly, ADGM entities have until May 31, 2025—approximately just four more months—to implement those arrangements. The clock is ticking.

Promising Results from Groundbreaking FinCrime Data Sharing Project Between Seven UK Banks and the National Crime Agency

By Richard Gibbon and Katy Fisher on January 9, 2025 Posted in Anti-corruption, Anti-money laundering, Anti-money laundering measures, Bank Secrecy Act, Compliance Program, Corporate compliance, Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy, General, Government Investigation, Industry Investigations, Technology, United Kingdom

In 2024, the National Crime Agency (the “NCA”), which is the UK’s lead agency against organized crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime, announced its “groundbreaking” data sharing partnership with seven UK banks, namely Barclays, Lloyds, Metro Bank, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank, and TSB.[1]

This new public-private partnership (“PPP”) was the largest of its kind anywhere in the world and the initial results of the project suggest it is revolutionizing the fight against financial crime.

EU Strengthens Sanctions Against Russia with 15th Package of Restrictive Measures

By Squire Patton Boggs on December 19, 2024 Posted in China, Economic sanctions, Energy, EU, General, Middle East, Russia, Sanctions, Sanctions, Technology, Ukraine

On December 16, 2024, the European Union (EU) adopted its 15th package of sanctions against Russia in response to its ongoing aggression toward Ukraine. The new measures target key sectors of Russia’s military-industrial complex, including the “shadow fleet” and companies that support this complex. Our colleagues at The Trade Practitioner cover this significant development in detail, read the full post at The EU Strengthens Sanctions Against Russia with 15th Package of Restrictive Measures | The Trade Practitioner.

OFAC Issues Additional Sanctions Guidance for the Maritime Shipping Industry

Failure to comply with the complex web of US sanctions laws and regulations carries significant risks both in terms of exposure to civil fines and penalties and reputational harm. To help maritime sector stakeholders navigate these regulations, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has published scenario-based sanctions compliance guidance on October 31, 2024, to aid commodities brokers, insurers, ship management service providers, shipbroking companies, port authorities and other industry participants to identify attempts at sanctions evasion, address due diligence issues and implement best practices. This guidance supplements OFAC’s previously published guidance related to the maritime sector, including the May 14, 2020 “Sanctions Advisory for the Maritime Industry, Energy and Metal Sectors, and Related Communities.”

France Issues Further CSRD Guidance on Compliance Reporting

By Squire Patton Boggs on November 12, 2024 Posted in Anti-corruption, Bribery, Commercial Bribery, Compliance Program, Corporate compliance, Corruption, EU, France, General, Industry Investigations

Our colleagues Marion Seranne and Saeid Abedi recently covered the French Anti-Corruption Agency’s (“AFA”) newly published guidance addressing Corporate Reporting Sustainability Directive (“CSRD”) reporting for companies that do not meet the French Sapin II law thresholds. In short, the agency stated that CSRD reporting standards trigger an obligation to implement an antibribery and corruption compliance program – a noteworthy point for companies looking to understand how (and if) the CSRD applies to their operations.

Check out the full post on our Sustainability in Business blog.