On the latest episode of Bad News, Good Lawyers, host Tom Firestone welcomes Jamison Firestone (no relation), founder of the first independent foreign law firm in post-Soviet Russia. Drawing on stories from his new book, Rule of Lies: My Wild Ride Through Chaos, Corruption, and Murder in Putin’s Russia, Jamison describes his experiences in early … Continue Reading
In the latest episode of The Inspector General, host Clark Ervin of our Government Investigations & White Collar Practice sits down with Michael Missal, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to discuss the challenges and opportunities of overseeing one of the federal government’s largest and most complex agencies. Although often … Continue Reading
In this episode of Bad News, Good Lawyers, host Tom Firestone, head of our Government Investigations & White Collar Practice, speaks with Séamus McElearney, a retired FBI Special Agent and author of Flipping Capo: How the FBI Dismantled the Real Sopranos, about the investigation that helped dismantle the DeCavalcante organized crime family (the model for … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) announced a financial penalty of AED 20 million (c. USD 5.45 million) against the UAE branch of a foreign bank following an investigation that revealed significant and repeated failures in the branch’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) and sanctions compliance programs.… Continue Reading
Introduction On June 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), together with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a joint notice of proposed … Continue Reading
Australia has taken a bold step in regulating youth access to social media, adopting legislation that places new obligations on digital platforms to restrict underage users. The measure has sparked significant debate, particularly among industry leaders and free speech advocates. Now that UK Prime Minster Keir Starmer has announced that the UK will adopt similar … Continue Reading
Recent remarks from leadership within the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division point to a sustained and increasing focus on antitrust enforcement in the government procurement space. In particular, the DOJ continues to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of bid rigging and other forms of collusive conduct that undermine the competitive bidding process.… Continue Reading
In this episode of Bad News, Good Lawyers, host Tom Firestone speaks with Anna Morris, former acting assistant secretary for terrorist financing at the US Treasury and a principal in our Public Policy Practice, about the evolution of US counterterrorism and sanctions policy. Morris shares her perspective on how the US approach to terrorist financing … Continue Reading
Geopolitical volatility is now a defining driver of corporate risk, with shifting alliances, trade tensions and national security priorities reshaping how organisations operate across borders. As major powers recalibrate their economic and strategic positions, global supply chains, energy markets and technology ecosystems are becoming more exposed to political pressure. As part of London International Disputes … Continue Reading
On May 1, 2026, the US issued a new Executive Order that significantly expands the reach of Cuba-related sanctions. Foreign companies and financial institutions may now face exposure based solely on their commercial dealings with certain sectors of the Cuban economy or with Cuban state-linked entities — even without a US nexus. The new framework … Continue Reading
In our latest episode of Bad News, Good Lawyers, host Tom Firestone, head of our Government Investigations & White Collar Practice, speaks with David Kostelancik, a longtime U.S. State Department diplomat and former chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, about the political shakeup following Hungary’s 2026 national elections.… Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“S.D.N.Y”) announced a revised corporate self-disclosure policy designed to incentivize companies to cooperate in criminal investigations. The updated policy, which the S.D.N.Y. expects to publish soon, will offer carrots to corporations that disclose criminal conduct and agree to cooperate and remediate: … Continue Reading
The EU’s new Forced Labor Regulation (the “EUFLR” or “the Regulation”) was published in the EU’s Official Journal on December 12, 2024.[1] Under the new Regulation, products that have been created through the use of forced labor will no longer be allowed to be introduced into the EU market or permitted to be exported from … Continue Reading
While the EU still lacks a unified regulatory framework, France has positioned itself as a key actor in the fight against corruption. This is due in large part to the impending adoption of the proposed Directive on combating corruption[1] of May 3, 2023, which (i) provides harmonized definition for some offences, including active[2] and passive[3] … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has issued four enforcement actions during the first half of this year, two in January under former President Biden and two in June under President Trump. These actions, described below, underscore the ongoing relevance of sanctions compliance programs in the Trump era. 2025 … Continue Reading
The UAE’s two financial free zones, established in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, possess their own civil and commercial legal frameworks, inclusive of court systems modeled closely on international standards and principles of common law and, importantly, autonomous financial services regulation. In the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), which was established by UAE … Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce a new, quarterly podcast series: “The Inspector General.” Hosted by former State Department and Homeland Security Department Inspector General and partner in our Government Investigations and White Collar practice, Clark Ervin, the podcast is intended especially for government contractors and grantees, who can be the subject of IG investigations and … Continue Reading
While the United States has announced a pause on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, the rest of the world is increasing its focus on prosecuting corrupt activities. This is a reminder to companies with a global footprint, including those headquartered in the U.S. that may not have physical operations overseas, that foreign activities likely fall … Continue Reading
Last month, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s (“OFSI”) published a Threat Assessment analyzing sanctions compliance involving UK financial services firms since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. In the first of our two-part article (available here), we summarized the six key areas of risk that OFSI identified in its Threat Assessment. In this … Continue Reading
Multi-defendant criminal investigations present a classic prisoner’s dilemma. The parties would benefit from cooperating with one another but are incented to become adversaries, most often due to a lack of information sharing and resultant lack of trust and transparency. Fortunately, the law provides a tool: the common-interest privilege, which enables parties to share information in … Continue Reading
The start of a new year presents an opportune time to reflect on the past. We have been tracking and reporting on the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”)’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (“CCF Initiative”), which former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced in October 2021. The CCF Initiative employs the powerful False Claims Act (“FCA”) in … Continue Reading
To encourage democratic development and achieve a peaceful and inclusive political transition, and to aid the swift reconstruction and economic recovery of the country and facilitate its eventual reincorporation into the global financial system, the European Council decided yesterday to suspend with immediate effect a number of sanctions and restrictive measures that had targeted key … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
