Congress recently passed the Rebuilding Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (“REPO”) Act, bipartisan legislation authorizing the Administration to seize billions of dollars in Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine reconstruction and aid. The legislation raises issues that could have political and legal consequences – for companies and individuals. Join members of the firm’s Policy and Government Investigations teams on May 7 for a webinar covering:   What does the REPO Act say? How did Congress reach bipartisan consensus to pass it? Will the REPO Act survive US court challenges ..read more

In June 2022, the Group of Seven (“G7”) countries—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—decided to pursue a policy to cap the price of Russian oil. In December 2022, the G7 countries, joined by Australia and the supranational European Union (together, the “Price Cap Coalition”) officially implemented measures to ban a range of services related to the maritime transport of Russian-origin crude oil wherever the price being paid for that oil was above a capped threshold. The intent of the price cap was to keep Russian oil flowing to world markets, since ..read more

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the integration of artificial intelligence (“AI”) into business operations presents unparalleled opportunities for efficiency and innovation. Alongside these advancements, however, come new challenges and risks that must be addressed to ensure regulatory compliance and ethical responsibility. Recently, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has underscored the importance of proactively managing AI-related risks as part of an effective compliance program, signaling a shift in regulatory expectations. In this blog post, we explore the key consider ..read more

The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, has long been recognized as one of the world’s leading providers of institutionally focused financial services and a preferred destination for the structuring and domiciling of sophisticated and specialized financial services products, particularly investment funds.  However, for a number of reasons, the inherent risks to the Cayman Islands’ financial system of misuse by illicit actors such as money launderers and terrorist financiers are high.  Those reasons include the complexity of the products and services on offer, the high valu ..read more

On March 7, 2024, US Deputy Attorney General, Lisa O. Monaco announced the development of a new “DOJ-run whistleblower rewards program” during her speech at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime.[1]  The announcement signals “a 90-day sprint to develop and implement a pilot program, with a formal start date later this year.” And Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri provided further clarification on March 8 at the same conference, noting that “[w]e believe that we can make the greatest impact by offering financial incentives to di ..read more

The authors wish to thank Molly McKenna for her contributions to this post. On February 23, 2024, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) removed the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) from its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (the “Grey List”).  As noted in our previous article (see here), FATF had intimated at its October 2023 Plenary that the UAE may be next off the Grey List as it had undertaken multiple key reforms to improve its overall anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) compliance framework. As set out in our previous article, the ..read more

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recently announced a policy—called the “SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program”—that seeks to encourage individuals to voluntarily disclose financial crimes in which they themselves participated. First unveiled in January 2024 and then revised this month, the policy sets forth the circumstances under which SDNY says that it will grant a non-prosecution agreement to an individual in exchange for the individual’s cooperation. As we explain, while it remains uncertain whether and when it might make sense for any individual to co ..read more

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s (“Monaco”) recent remarks at Oxford University shed light on the evolving intersection of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the criminal enforcement landscape and its profound implications for the United States Department of Justice and beyond. As the Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Justice, Monaco’s insights underscore the critical importance of understanding and navigating the complex relationship between AI and criminal defense, particularly in the realm of white collar crime. The early portion of Monaco’s address focused on the requireme ..read more

The rules on reporting cybersecurity risks and incidents pose many challenges for companies. Those challenges can be even more difficult when the cybersecurity incident affects third-party systems. With no exceptions for third-party cybersecurity incidents under the new cybersecurity reporting regulations, companies should take proactive steps to assess and respond appropriately to third-party cybersecurity incidents. The SEC’s New Cyber Risk Regulations In July 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) promulgated new regulations (“Cyber Risk Regulations”) that, among other t ..read more

Please join us on Tuesday, January 30 for a discussion about “the most consequential anti-foreign-bribery law passed in almost 50 years”: the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA). FEPA allows the DOJ to prosecute foreign officials who demand or accept a bribe from a U.S. citizen or company. Our seasoned team of three former Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors – including Tom Firestone, a key player in drafting the legislation, Kathleen McGovern, former senior deputy chief of the Fraud Section supervising FCPA Unit and former FCPA prosecutor, and Jerrob Duffy, former chief of the DOJ Fr ..read more