On January 3, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment of three Swiss bankers, who worked with Wegelin bank in Switzerland. See below for the press release. According to the indictment and DOJ press release,  the three defendants conspired with U.S. taxpayers and others to hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from the IRS in undeclared accounts of U.S. taxpayers at Bank A, which media sources report as Wegelin.

On December 29, 2011, the United States government extradited Joshua Moses Morales, a Mexican national accused of killing the two-year old daughter of his girlfriend in Tijuana, Mexico.  Morales, a U.S. citizen, fled the country after the death, but was arrested by U.S. authorities a year later, and later extradited.  While the U.S. does not always agree to extradite its citizens, in this instance, a desire for closer cooperation with Mexico may have helped influence the decision.  U.S. and Mexican agencies are working closely together in combatting drug trafficking and violence, but the continued pressure has strained relations to some extent.

On December 29, 2011, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Magyar Telekom Plc., a Hungarian telecommunications company, and Deutsche Telekom AG, a German telecommunications company and majority owner of Magyar Telekom, agreed to pay a combined $63.9 million criminal penalty to settle a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into activities by Magyar Telekom and its subsidiaries in Macedonia and Montenegro.  

Magyar Telekom entered into a two-year deferred prosecution agreement in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where a three-count information was filed, charging Magyar Telekom with one count of violating the the anti-bribery provision of the FCPA and two counts of violating the books and records provisions of the FCPA.  At the time of the alleged misconduct, Magyar Telekom's American Depository Receipts (ADRs) traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).  Magyar Teleklom agreed to pay a $59.6 million penalty for its illegal activity, implement an enhanced compliance program and submit annual reports concering its efforts in implementing the enhanced compliance measures and remediating past problems.

Deutsche Telekom, Magyar's parent company, entered into a two-year non-prosecution agreement for its failure to keep books and records that accurately detailed the activities of Magyar Telekom.  Deutsche Telekom agreed to pay a $4.36 million pnealty in connection with the inaccurate books and records and to strengthen its compliance program.  At the time of the conduct, Deutsche Telekom's ADRs traded on the NYSE.

SEC's complaints can be seen here and here.

On December 23, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice released an opinion issued on Sember 20, 2011, by Virginia A. Seitz, the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division.  The13-page opinion concludes that "interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a "sporting event or contest," 18 U.S.C.Sec. 1084(a), fall outside the reach of the Wire Act."  The opinion responded to inquiries by the States of Illinois and New York about whether the Wire Act may prohibit States from conducting in-state lottery transactions via the Internet if the transmissions over the Internet during the transaction crossed State lines, and may also limit States' abilities to transmit lottery data to out-of-state transaction processors.

Although the opinion is limited to the inquiries about state lotteries, it sets the possibilities that all kinds of online gaming from outside the U.S. can occur, especially in view of the WTO decision in favor of Antigua and Barbuda against the U.S.

The DOJ decision caused stocks of online gaming companies to rise.

The IELR has released its latest issue, Volume 28, Issue 2, February 2012.

Especially of interest to our readers may be "Former Ivory Coast President Transferred to the ICC," on page 49, "Review of the UK's Extradition Arrangements" on page 52, and "Europol Supports French Police Against Russian-Speaking Mafia" on page 77.

If you wish to recieve all past and future issues of the IELR, subscribe here.   

The American University Washington College of Law has released Volume 19, Issue 1 (Fall 2011) of Human Rights Brief, a journal covering several topics in international law.  Of interest in this edition are articles on a potential court to handle war crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a tribunal in Lebanon defining terrorism, and recent developments with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. 

Julian Zapata Espinoza, a Mexican national, has been extradited from Mexico to the United States.  Mr. Espinoza will face charges for the murder of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila.  Several U.S. and Mexican agencies participated in the investigation, highlighting both the close cooperation between the two governments and the escalating violence resulting from Mexico's crackdown on drug trafficking.

Callixte Mbarushimana, a Rwandan accused of leading attacks against villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2009, has been ordered to be released by the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Prosecutors are expected to appeal the ruling.

Citation: Associated Press,The Hague: Prosecutors Lose  Appeal To Retain Rwandan Suspect, The New York Times, December 20, 2011.

Venezuelan officials deported Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, a drug-trafficker on Colombia's most-wanted list, to the United States to face trial.  Bonilla had ties to Mexico's Zetas cartel, and was highly sought after by the United States.  This move, along with the deportation of another high-ranking trafficker, may improve the anti-narcotics relationship between the United States and Venezuela.

Citation: Associated Press, Venezuela hands over alleged drug lord to U.S., The Washington Post, December 16, 2011.

On December 12, the Assembly  of States by acclamation names a lawyer from gamibia, Fatou bensouda, the new chief prosecutor of the International Court of Justice.  The election comes as the ICC is adjudicating six cases involving Afria (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Uganda, the Ivory Coast, Sudan, and Libya), in which women are often the victims.

Her election also comes as the ICC has pressed  Malawi to the UN Security Council for their failure to arrest and surrender Sudanese President Omar Al-bashir during his visits to both countries. 

The fact that Ms. Bensouda has served as deputy chief prosecutor has brings continuity, which is useful since she is only the second chief prosecutor for the ICC.