Authors: Susannah Cogman, Partner, London; Daniel Hudson, Partner, London; Jonathan Cross, Counsel, New York; Geng Li, Associate, New York; and Christopher Milazzo, Associate, New York. On January 28, 2019, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control… Read more

Welcome to the December 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. This month, we would like to wish all of our regular readers a… Read more

Federal Decree No. 24 of 2018 has amended certain provisions of Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 (the "Penal Code") to strengthen anti-corruption legislation in the UAE and bring it in line with other jurisdictions by including foreign public officials… Read more

Welcome to the autumn 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please… Read more

Last Friday, the SFC announced (via a circular) that it had commenced a thematic review of selected licensed corporations (LCs) to assess their risk governance and oversight frameworks as well as risk management practices. ... Read more

Following President Trump’s decision on May 8, 2018 to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), the US government announced that it would re-impose pre-JCPOA nuclear-related Iran sanctions (both primary and secondary) that were lifted… Read more

In the case of R (On The Application Of KBR Inc) v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2018] EWHC 2368 (Admin) ("KBR"), the High Court dismissed a judicial review brought by the applicant, finding that the SFO was able to compel… Read more

How far can a sanctions clause protect a party from having to perform their contractual obligations - and in the case of Iran-related sanctions concerns, how does this interact with the Blocking Regulation? In Mamancochet Mining Limited v Aegis Managing Agency… Read more

On 5 October 2018, HM Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) published its Annual Review for the 2017-18 financial year. This is the first such review published by OFSI and provides an overview of OFSI's activities in 2017-18, as… Read more

On October 11, 2018, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") issued official guidance entitled "Advisory on the Iranian Regime's Illicit and Malign Activities and Attempts to Exploit the Financial System" (the "Advisory"). The Advisory intends to help US financial institutions… Read more

The former CEO of Saint Vincent-based Loyal Bank pleaded guilty and was convicted on 11 September of conspiring to defraud the US by failing to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This is the first conviction obtained… Read more

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular on 31 August 2018 highlighting both deficiencies and good practices observed in relation to anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance by licensed corporations (LCs) and associated entities (AEs).… Read more

Welcome to the summer 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters over July and August.  ... Read more

End of first wind-down period Following President Trump's decision on 8 May 2018 to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA"), the US government announced that it would re-impose pre-JCPOA nuclear related sanctions (both primary… Read more

The head of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has warned local investors to beware of rampant corruption in some Belt and Road countries. ICAC commissioner Simon Peh Yun-Lu pledged the support of the agency, one of the world's… Read more

Tax authorities in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands have joined forces to launch the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, or “J5” alliance against transnational tax crime and money laundering. ... Read more

Welcome to the June 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please click on the name of the jurisdiction below. Below… Read more

In May, we published an e-bulletin discussing President Trump's announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – "JCPOA"), and that all pre-JCPOA nuclear-related sanctions on Iran (including secondary sanctions) would be… Read more

Welcome to the May 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update on each… Read more

Late last week, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) published a circular setting out its key findings from anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) onsite inspections of authorised insurers carrying on long term business.  ... Read more

On 24 May 2018, it was announced that the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act (the "Act") had received Royal Assent. The Act is the first piece of UK primary legislation governing the post-Brexit legal position and will create a post-Brexit… Read more

The House of Lords has established an ad hoc Select Committee (the "Committee") to consider and report on the Bribery Act 2010 (the "Act"). The Committee, which was formally appointed on 17 May, is due to release a report by… Read more

Welcome to the first edition of our Anti-Corruption Regulation Legal Guide for the Middle East. We are delighted to launch this publication, which presents the legislative framework regulating bribery and corruption across arrange of Middle East jurisdictions, drawing upon the combined knowledge and experience… Read more

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has published guidance detailing the UK Government's intended approach to sanctions exceptions and licences after Brexit. Sanctions exceptions and licences are mechanisms through which restrictive measures imposed by sanctions may be relaxed in specific circumstances.… Read more

The Hong Kong government has published a report detailing the money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk assessment of Hong Kong. This follows the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that jurisdictions identify and assess their ML/TF… Read more

On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced that the United States will completely withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the "JCPOA"). The JCPOA, signed in July 2015 and implemented on January 16, 2016, lifted most US nuclear related… Read more

The government has this week published a comprehensive report detailing Hong Kong's Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) Risk Assessment. This is the product of a year's consultation, data analysis and stakeholder engagement by the government. ... Read more

Welcome to the April 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. Below we provide a brief overview of… Read more

Effective from 5 March 2018, all corporations in Indonesia are required to disclose at least one person as their beneficial owner upon registering for business, pursuant to the Presidential Regulation (Perpres 13/2018) signed by President Joko Widodo on 1 March… Read more

In late February, Transparency International ("TI") published the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index ("CPI"). This is the 23rd annual edition of the CPI, which ranks countries according to the levels of public sector corruption, as perceived by business people and country… Read more