On January 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice partly unsealed two indictments against Huawei corporate entities and the Huawei Chief Financial Officer Wanzhou Meng. In the U.S. Court Eastern District of New York, a 13-count indictment was unsealed, charging four defendants, including Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (Huawei), and two Huawei affiliates – Huawei Device USA Inc. (Huawei USA) and Skycom Tech Co. Ltd. (Skycom) as well as Meng. The indictment occurs in the context of a proactive campaign by the United States government to curb China’s large telecom equipment maker and seller of smart phones.   U.S. government officials are concerned that Huawei is trying to further China’s global goals and that such goals undermine U.S. interests to control high-tech superiority.

At its 4^th sitting held on January 22, 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a Resolution on fighting impunity of perpetrators of serious human rights violations and corruption, most notably in the Magnitsky case. The debate and resolution were based on a comprehensive Report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.

On January 17, 2019, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demerks announced Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving its liability for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

On January 15, 2019, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) acquitted Laurent Gbago, former President of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and his right-hand man, Charles Blé Goudé. By a majority of two to one, the judges held that there was insufficient evidence to place Gbagbo on his defense. Laurent Gbagbo, the first former head of state to be tried before the court, had been on trial for crimes against humanity in the post-election violence in this country.

On November 30, 2018, a unanimous Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in R v Vice Media Inc, which will support law enforcement officials in terrorism investigations and prosecutions.  Police can apply to judges, without giving notice to the party holding the evidence, to obtain the content of communications involving suspected terrorists.  Even more significantly, these ex parte orders may compel journalists and media organizations to produce such texts, emails and other communications from terrorists.

On January 14, 2019, diplomatic tensions between Canada and China increased as a Chinese court ordered the death penalty for a Canadian national.  The latter sentence appears to be an escalation of the effort by the Chinese to force Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer and daughter of the founder of Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications networking gear manufacturer and influential Chinese company.  Canada detained her on December 1, 2018, pursuant to a U.S. extradition warrant.

On January 14, 2019, diplomatic tensions between Canada and China increased as a Chinese court ordered the death penalty for a Canadian national.  The latter sentence appears to be an escalation of the effort by the Chinese to force Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer and daughter of the founder of Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications networking gear manufacturer and influential Chinese company.  Canada detained her on December 1, 2018, pursuant to a U.S. extradition warrant.

On December 19, 2019, the Estonian state prosecutor announced the arrest of ten former employees of the local branch of Danske Bank as part of an ongoing international investigation into money laundering.   On January 11, 2018, Danske Bank announced it has received a letter from a French court requesting an interview concerning “matters relating to the ongoing investigation into organized money laundering of tax evasion proceeds.”  Partly in response to the Danske Bank crisis, on January 14, 2019, the European Central Bank reached a cooperation agreement to work with the European Commission and European supervisory authorities to combat money laundering.

On January 9, 2019, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by the Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT) against U.S pension funds.  SKAT is responsible for assessing and collecting taxes in Denmark and issuing tax refund to claimants under certain double taxation treaties between Denmark and other countries.  The defendants are U.S. pension plans, their authorized representatives and, in one case, the incorporator involved in creating plans involved in the alleged scheme.  The scheme also involved  payment agents and broker custodians who are not named as defendants.