On December 20, 2017, the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (hereafter the “Global Forum”), which consists of 147 members and 17 observers, issued its annual report. It noted the fact that 50 jurisdictions have committed to starting Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in September 2017 pursuant to the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS).  78 jurisdictions and 3 international organizations observers are participating in the AEOI group and carry out the mandate related to effective implementation of the AEOI standard.  As the jurisdictions that participated in the 2017 exchanges are preparing to use the data for enforcement purposes, most of the remaining jurisdictions are preparing now to make their initial exchanges in September 2018.  Already the report on the 2017 implementation period is ready.  The Global Forum is preparing to conduct full reviews of the implementation of automatic exchange of information (AEOI) by 2020.

On December 22, U.S. private investigative firm Kroll published its second report on the 2014 Moldovan bank fraud scandal. This article provides background on the scandal, as well as commentary on the contents of the report.

On November 21, 2017, Danish authorities detained Alexander Panesh, who is an attorney for Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, as Panesh was en route from France to Lithuania when his plane landed in Copenhagen. Danish police detained him because he is wanted by the Russian authorities on charges of bribery of public officials, corruption, making false statements in court, and giving false evidence.  Panesh has denied the charges.

On December 20, 2017, United States President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order, designating 13 persons under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (the Act), the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), and 3 U.S.C. § 301.

On December 23, 2017, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia issued an opinion, ruling that a U.S. citizen detained as an “enemy combatant” has the right to a lawyer. On or about September 12, 2017, the U.S. and Saudi Arabian dual national surrendered to Syrian Democratic forces, after which he was transferred to the U.S. Armed Forces.  He has been held since, without charges or counsel, as an enemy combatant.   According to the Defense Department (DOD), he remains detained within an armed conflict zone with restricted civilian access.  Other than two visits from representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross – on September 29, 2017 and October 23, 2017 – the detainee has had no contact or communication with anyone except government personnel since his detention.

On December 22, 2017, Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. (KOM), a company based in Singapore that operates shipyards and repairs and upgrades shipping vessels, and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Keppel Offshore & Marine USA Inc. (KOM USA), agreed to resolve criminal charges and pay a combined total penalty of more than $422 million to resolve charges with law enforcement authorities in the United States, Brazil and Singapore.  The case arises out of a scheme dating back ten years to pay millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Brazil.  KOM is the largest builder of oil rigs in the world.

On December 21, 2017, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) finished enforcement proceedings by concluding that the bank seriously violated anti-money laundering regulations by failing to screen adequately transactions and business relationships booked in Switzerland with respect to the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund (1MDB) and one of its business partners.

This article covers two recent congressional hearings on various legislative proposals to counter terrorism and illicit finance:

·         November 29, 2017: The House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee and the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee’s hearing on legislative proposals to counter terrorism and illicit finance;

·          November 26, 2017: The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on S.1241: Modernizing AML Laws to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. 

At its sitting held on November 24, 2017, the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), adopted its Opinion 296 (2017) on the Draft Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No. 108). The Opinion addresses key problems and obstacles experienced both within the Council and among the member states in the process of amending one of its flagship instruments, Convention 108.

On December 15, 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHRC) and human rights non-government organizations criticized international human rights abuses in Iraq. The UNHRC said it was deeply shocked and appalled at the mass executions on December 14 of 38 men at a prison in Nassiriya, Iraq.  The 38 persons executed had been convicted for terrorism-related crimes.