On December 21, 2021, a jury in U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts convicted the former chair of Harvard University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department relating to false statements to federal authorities concerning his affiliation with the People’s Republic of China’s Thousand Talents Program and the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in Wuhan China, as well as failing to report income he received from WUT and bank accounts in the PRC.[1]  The prosecution arises out of the U.S. Department of Justice’s China Initiative.[2]

On December 15, 2021, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. announced the repatriation of 200 antiquities valued at an estimated $10 million to Italy during a repatriation ceremony attended by the Italy Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele, Italian Carbiniera Tutela Patrimonio Culturale (“TPC”) Brigadier General Roberto Riccardi, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Deputy Special Agent in Charge Erik Rosenblatt.[1]

On December 15, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. issued an Executive Order, establishing the United States Council on Transnational Organized Crime (USCTOC).[1]

On December 15, 2021, the European Parliament adopted two resolutions on divergent aspects of the organized crime: first, on cooperation on the fight against organized crime in the Western Balkans; second, on the impact of organized crime on own resources of the EU and on the misuse of EU funds.

On December 10, 2021, Guatemala extradited two nationals to the United States on international narcotics trafficking charges.[1]

On December 2, 2021, the Biden administration announced that, in response to a court order obtained by the states of Texas and Missouri, the federal government will soon reinstate Migration Protection Protocols (“MPP”), commonly referred to as the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy.[1] This decision invoked heavy criticism from advocacy organizations such as UNICEF and American Civil Liberties Union, stating that MPP was a “humanitarian catastrophe” and that the program cannot be ethically reinstated due to its inherent and unjustifiable flaws.[2]

On November 8, 2021, United States Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis certified with a 24-page opinion the extraditability of César Duarte, the former governor of Chihuahua, on Embezzlement and related charges.[1]

On December 8, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), U.S. Department of Treasury issued proposed regulations to require certain entities to file reports with FinCEN, identifying two categories of individuals: the beneficial owners of the entity; and individuals who have applied with specified governmental authorities to form the entity or register it to do business.  Written comments on the proposed rule can be submitted on or before February 7, 2022.[1]

On December 8, 2021, the European Commission released three key proposals aimed at streamlining and strengthening law enforcement in the European Union: Proposal for a regulation on automated data exchange for police cooperation (Prüm II), Proposal for a Council recommendation on operational police cooperation, and proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on information exchange between law enforcement authorities of member States.[1]

On November 16, 2021, Italian police broke up an international drug trafficking ring operated by the ‘Ndrangheta, an Italian mafia clan. The bust led to upwards of 100 arrest warrants nationwide—including six Italians arrested in Switzerland. Police also said the arrest culminated from three individual investigations into the mafia. Some suspects are on house arrest, while others are in a jail cell.