The International Enforcement Law Reporter is a monthly print and online journal covering news and trends in international enforcement law.
Since September 1985, the International Enforcement Law Reporter has analyzed the premier developments in both the substantive and procedural aspects of international enforcement law. Read by practitioners, academics, and politicians, the IELR is a valuable guide to the difficult and dynamic field of international law.
In December 2020, the U.S. Congress enacted the United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act (USNTEEA)[1] as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021.
[1] P.L. 116-260, Division FF, Subtitle F. For the text of the law see https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2615/text.
This year Denmark, Germany, and Belgium have all brought criminal investigations against foreign enablers in the cum-ex trading cases.
On March 17, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force announced the start of a new project “to study and mitigate the unintended consequences resulting from the incorrect implementation of the FATF Standards.”[1]
[1] FATF, Mitigating the Unintended Consequences of the FATF Standards, Mar. 17, 2021 https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/financialinclusionandnpoissues/documents/unintended-consequences-project.html.
On March 12, 2021, Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez, 34, a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen, residing in Guadalajara, Mexico, pleaded guilty to willfully engaging in financial transactions with Mexican companies designated as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).[1]
[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Daughter of Prolific Mexican Cartel Leader Pleads Guilty to Criminal Violation of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, Press Rel.21-223, Mar. 12, 2021.
When traveling abroad, either as a foreign national or a dual citizen, the last thing anyone expects is to be wrongfully detained on arbitrary charges and then used as a political bargaining chip. However, this is an ongoing problem. In response to the increased incidence of allegedly arbitrary detentions of foreign nationals, on February 15, 2021, Canada launched the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. [1]
*B.A., U. of Arizona; Salzburg Universität, Salzburg, Austria; 2nd year law student, Univ. of Richmond School of Law
[1] Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, Government of Canada, https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/human_rights-droits_homme/arbitrary_detention-detention_arbitraire.aspx?lang=eng (last visited Mar. 15, 2021).
On March 11, 2021, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the settlement of criminal charges with Rahn+Bodmer Co. (R+B), the oldest private bank in Zurich (founded in 1870). R+B agreed to the filing of a criminal information against them with one count of conspiring to assist U.S. account holders evade their U.S. tax obligations, file false federal tax returns, and otherwise defraud the IRS by concealing millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts at R+B.[1]
[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Zurich’s Oldest Private Bank Admits to Helping U.S. Taxpayers Hide Offshore Accounts from IS, Press Rel., Mar. 11, 2021 https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/zurich-s-oldest-private-bank-admits-helping-us-taxpayers-hide-offshore-accounts-irs.
On March 9, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN issued a notice to financial institutions informing them of (i) the new measures to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the AMLA) regarding the antiquities and art trade, (ii) potential criminal activity associated with art and antiquities trade (iii) and updates to the SAR filing.[1]
[1] Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FIN-2021-NTC2, FinCEN Informs Financial Institutions of Efforts Related to Trade in Antiquities and Art (2021).
On March 5, 2021, the Czech Republic extradited two members of an international organized network that furnish cash-out and money laundering services to persons committing cybercrimes.[1]
[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Two Ukrainian National Extradited to U.S. on Money Laundering Charges, Press Rel. No. 21-209, Mar. 5, 2021.
In early March 2021, the findings of Suriname’s National Risk Assessment (NRA) on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and corruption, as recommended by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), were released. While money laundering is illegal per a 2002 law that was amended in 2016, the NRA indicates that Suriname has some major challenges ahead and has an insufficient awareness of money laundering. Completing the NRA is a significant step in Suriname’s interaction with the global financial system and in controlling transnational crime: the country needs a cleaner slate in recovering from a profound economic downturn, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rescheduling of close to $4 billion debt. Adding to the sense of urgency Suriname sits on the edge of becoming a major oil producer.
On February 16, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (the Court or ECHR), Grand Chamber, delivered its judgment in the case Hanan v. Germany. The ruling concerns the procedural aspects of the responsibility of the government of Germany under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) deriving from the activities of its armed forces in Afghanistan in 2009.
