On April 1, 2021, United States President Joseph R. Biden terminated the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13928 of June 11, 2020, which blocked property of certain persons associated with the International Criminal Court (ICC).[1]

On March 2, 2020 the United Nations released a Report on Financial Integrity For Sustainable Development (the “Report”). Although the Report is lengthy and wide-ranging, we will focus here on the portions of the Report which target the humanitarian toll of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) from money laundering, tax abuse, cross-border corruption, and transnational financial crime – all of which can drain resources from sustainable development, worsen inequality, fuel instability, undermine governance, and damage public trust.   We also will focus on the portions of the Report which make recommendations designed to expand anti-money laundering (“AML”) compliance.

While Interpol has published the revised RPD, it has neither itemized the revisions nor provided a red-line version of the RPD. This article summarizes the 2019 revisions and assesses their significance, both for attorneys seeking the knowledge they need to effectively advocate for their clients when an Interpol issue arises and for practitioners concerned to ensure that Interpol is used only for purposes of legitimate law enforcement. Finally, it provides a practical illustration of the importance of Interpol’s rules on data protection for attorneys advocating before the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (the “CCF”).

In mid-March 2021, Spanish police seized a submarine capable of transporting up to two tons of drugs.  During the drug raids across Spain, police arrested 52 persons, seized  significant quantities of cocaine and hashish, and dismantled a drug lab.[1]

On March 18, 2021, at the Tenth U.K.-Caribbean Forum, the ministers’ meeting resulted in pledges for continued cooperation in international enforcement initiatives, especially helping CARICOM members meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) international standards and cybercrime security and enforcement.  At the end of the meeting, a communique was issued[1] as well as an action plan.[2]

                On March 22, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton’s crew repatriated 17 Cuban migrants to Cuba. They had interdicted them on March 18, approximately 54 miles south of Key West, and were brought aboard due to safety of life at sea issues.[1]  Meanwhile, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the U.S. to abide by its commitment to the Joint Declaration on migration signed by the two governments on January 12, 2017, to prevent the tragic incidents resulting from irregular migration.[2]

                On March 24, 2021, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)  issued a summary of its 2020 achievements, including a number of international enforcement ones.[1]

On March 20, 2021, the United States government obtained custody of Mun Chol Myong after Malaysia extradited him to face U.S. money laundering charges.  He was the first North Korean extradited to the U.S. after a Malaysian court denied the argument that the U.S. charges were politically motivated.[1]

On March 18, 2021, the U.S. Attorney in Seattle announced the indictment of Till Kottmann, 21, for computer intrusion and identity and data theft crimes from 2019 to the present.  Initially, the U.S. charged Kottmann, aka “deletescape” and “Tillie crimew” in September 2020.  The U.S. Department of Justice has notified Kottmann of the indictment.  Kottmann remains for now in Lucerne, Switzerland.[1]

Ex-Nigerian governor James Ibori and his associates allegedly laundered 160 million in Euros in the years he was in office. They used the stolen money to purchase luxurious cars, a jet plane, and property in the U.K. and Nigeria. The U.K. announced it would return $5.8 million that the ex-Nigerian Governor stole; this comes as part of the deal between the two countries. This is the first time such action was taken under a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that both countries signed to combat the corruption that is plaguing the region.^[1] Ibori’s case is just one of many in Nigeria. Laundered and stolen assets exasperate poverty and corruption in any given country. The asset recovery process is long-drawn-out and often leaves the impacted country with less than a fraction of the stolen assets. This is especially true when stolen assets are recovered in the U.K., where it is increasingly difficult to return the assets to the affected country.