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.
On April 26, 2021, Switzerland’s Migros Bank announced it has agreed to enter into a settlement with German prosecutors to pay $2.9 million to resolve allegations it permitted and helped German taxpayers to conceal assets from the German tax authorities.[1]
[1] Michael Shields and Louise heavens, Swiss Migros Bank settles German charges it aided tax dodgers, Reuters, Apr. 26, 2021.
On April 6, 2021, Raymond Kohut, a Canadian citizen, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecution of a Ecuadorian bribery case relating to his former employer, the Swiss commodities trading firm Gunvor Group. The case is representative of prosecutors’ willingness to pursue corruption charges against individuals as well as of prosecutors’ targeting of commodities traders for offenses such as bribery and money laundering.
On April 15, 2021, Eurojust announced a new urgent funding option for Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) to increase efforts against serious organized cross-border crime. Eurojust is starting an initiative to urgently fund cross-border operational activities of JITs. The fund will furnish targeted, short-term grants for JITs’ urgent and /or unforeseen activities.[1]
On April 13, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued a statement responding to questions concerning the exchange of personal data between public authorities under existing international agreements in different areas. The EDPB recalls the requirements of Article 96 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Article 61 Law Enforcement Directive (LED).[1] Those provisions require all international agreements concerning the transfer of personal data to third countries or international organizations which were concluded by the EU Members prior to May 24, 2016 or May 6, 2016, respectively, and which comply with EU law as applicable prior to that date, must remain in force until amended, replaced, or revoked.[2]
[1] EDPB, Recommendation 01/2021 on the adequacy referential under the Law Enforcement Directive, adopted Feb. 2, 2021 https://edpb.europa.eu/sites/edpb/files/files/file1/recommendations012021onart.36led.pdf_en.pdf.
[2] Andrea Jelinek, EDPB, Statement 04/2021 on international agreements including transfers adopted on April 13, 2021 https://edpb.europa.eu/sites/edpb/files/files/file1/edpb_statement042021_international_agreements_including_transfers_en.pdf.
On April 15, 2021, a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned an indictment, charging a Houston-based tax attorney of conspiracy with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of a private equity firm to commit tax crimes. The indictment also charges him with three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of the CEO’s false tax returns for the 2012 to 2014 tax years.[1]
[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Attorney Indicted for Facilitating Tax Fraud, Press Rel. 21-336, Apr. 15, 2021.
On April 13, 2021, Danish prosecutors charged three British and three United States nationals with defrauding the Danish government of more than $175 million through a German bank.
On April 14, 2021, the Biden Administration announced it imposed new sanctions against Russia for its alleged involvement in the U.S. 2020 election interference and the solar winds cyber infiltration. In a press statement, the White House announced new sanctions against six Russian companies with ties to Russian spy services cyber hacking and will expel 10 Russian diplomats in the United States. It also officially named the Russian intelligence service (SVR) for their alleged involvement in the SolarWinds hack that affected several U.S. agencies and a number of private firms. [1]
[1] Press release, FACT SHEET: Imposing Costs for Harmful Foreign Activities by the Russian Government, WHITEHOUSE.GOV, (April 15, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/15/... .
In April 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of D.C. filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Michigan man that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) placed on a no-fly list because he refused to become an informant.
On March 19, 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles unsealed a criminal complaint charging 10 Iranian nationals with operating an approximately 20-year-long scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on the Iranian government by concealing more than $300 million worth of transactions. The transactions including buying two $25 million oil tankers for Iran through front companies in the San Fernando Valley, Canada, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. [1]
[1] Office of the United States Attorney Central District of California, Iranian nationals Charged with Conspiring to Evade U.S. Sanctions on Iran by Disguising $300 Million in Transactions Over Two Decades, Press Rel. 21-047, Mar. 19, 2021.
On March 19, 2021, the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), adopted the resolution and recommendation on strengthening financial intelligence units to improve illegal asset confiscation. The debate as well as recommendation and resolution were based on the report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.[1]
* Professor Plachta specializes in criminal law and international criminal law. He has authored numerous publications on a wide range of problems concerning law enforcement and international cooperation in criminal matters. He currently teaches criminal law and European criminal law at the University of Security in Poznan, Poland.
[1] Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Urgent need to strengthen financial intelligence units – Sharper tools needed to improve confiscation of illegal assets, Rapporteur Ms Thorhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir, doc. 15192, Dec. 4, 2020.
