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 February 25, 2022, the English Court of Appeal overturned a decision by the High Court[1] that the common law revenue prevents the Danish Revenue Authority (“SKAT”) from recovering withholding tax (“WHT”) refunds on the basis that refund claims were fraudulently made. [2]
On March 3rd, the Nigerian Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, filed an application to the Federal High Court for the extradition of former Nigerian “supercop” Abba Kyari to the United States for his alleged link to suspected money launderer Ramon Abbas. Three weeks prior, Kyari and four other police officers were arrested for their alleged involvement in a cocaine smuggling cartel. Now, he faces likely extradition to the United States for previous charges wherein he is suspected of taking bribes from alleged Instagram fraudster, Ramon Abbas.
On February 4, 2022, the Treasury Department released its findings concerning money laundering and terror financing in the art market. More specifically, the study tackles the emerging New Fungible Token (NFT) markets that have exploded in recent months.
On February 15, 2022, Honduran law enforcement authorities arrested former President Juan Orlando Hernández on an extradition warrant from the United States. The extradition warrant alleges he participated in a “violent drug-trafficking conspiracy.”[1]
[1] Joan Suazo and Anatoly Kurmanaev, Former Honduras President Detained after a U.S. Extradition Request, N.Y. Times, Feb. 15, 2022.
On March 2, 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the start of Task Force KleptoCapture to enforce sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeausres the U.S. has issued, in coordination with U.S. allies, in response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Task Force KleptoCapture will aim to enforce these actions that are designed to isolate Russia from global markets. In particular, the U.S. restrictions target the crimes of Russian officials, government-aligned elites, and persons who help or conceal their unlawful conduct. On March 3, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the first indictment for Russian sanctions violations.
The conflict initiated by Russia in Ukraine has spouted one proceeding in an international tribunal and resulted in another monitoring the developments with an eye to starting an investigation. On February 25, 2022, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC issued a statement on the situation in Ukraine. He said he has been “closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern.” On February 27, Khan announced he decided to proceed with opening an investigation into the Situation in Ukraine, as rapidly as possible. On February 27, Ukraine filed an application instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning “a dispute . . . relating to the interpretation, application and fulfilment of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” (the “Genocide Convention”).
On February 17, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its first director of National Cryptocurrency Enforcement. The announcement followed close on a settlement on February 14 between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and BlockFi for failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product. Meanwhile, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are battling to authority to regulate cryptocurrency.
On February 20, 2022, the Panama Papers-style results of investigations were published. They reveal secrets about Credit Suisse’s (CS) accounts and identity of its clients.
An extraordinary leak of data from Credit Suisse, one of the world’s most iconic banks, is exposing how the bank allegedly held hundreds of millions of dollars for heads of state, intelligence officials, sanctioned businessmen, and human rights abusers, among many others.[1]
* Professor Plachta specializes in criminal law and international criminal law. He has authored numerous publication 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] Jesse Drucker and Ben Hubbard, Vast Leak Exposes How Credit Suisse Served Strongmen and Spies, New York Times, February 20, 2022.
On December 27, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) into law.[1] The NDAA contains Sec. 6503, “Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention,” (TRAP) which incorporates, with substantial alterations, provisions from the TRAP Acts introduced on a bipartisan basis in both the Senate and the House in 2019 and 2021.
[1] Sec. 6503 is most easily accessed through “Helsinki Commission Welcomes Passage of TRAP Provision in 2022 National Defense Authorization Act,” The U.S. Helsinki Commission, December 15, 2021, https://www.csce.gov/international-impact/press-and-media/press-releases...
On February 18, 2022, the media reported that Angolan Justice Minister Francisco Queiroz has said his government has recovered assets worth more than $11 billion that had been stolen and/or embezzled from the government and placed abroad.
