On January 4, 2020, Judge Vanessa Baraitser of Westminster Magistrates’ Court denied the extradition request of the United States for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 49, because of Assange’s mental condition. Her 132-page ruling  (“extradition decision”) is a victory for Assange, but the U.S. Government will undoubtedly appeal.^[1]

On January 1, 2020, the Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the annual military policy bill (the National Defense Authorization Act – NDAA). Division E of the Act is the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the AMLA or Act), which contains a number of international enforcement elements. This post discusses selected international enforcement aspects, not including the beneficial owner/ entity transparency provisions, which are discussed in depth in the December 2020 issue of the International Enforcement Law Reporter.[1]

On December 9, 2020, the European Commission presented a new Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU to step up the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and boost the EU's resilience to terrorist threats. On the same day, the Commission released its proposal to strengthen the mandate of Europol, the EU Agency for law enforcement cooperation, by amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794, as regards Europol’s cooperation with private parties, the processing of personal data by Europol in support of criminal investigations, and Europol’s role on research and innovation.

We at the IELR send you the best wishes for a warm and joyous holiday season. 2020 was momentous for the international enforcement community, and we are grateful to have had you following along with our coverage.

The year 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the adoption and signing of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC or TOC Convention), which had taken place in Palermo, Sicily, the heartland of the Italian Cosa Nostra. The Convention is accompanied by three protocols which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime.

On December 21, 2020, Spain extradited to the United States a Canadian citizen accused of directing a decades-long psychic mail fraud scheme. On the following day, the defendant, Patrice Runner, 54, made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.[1]

On December 21, 2020, high-level United States officials announced new charges against a former Libyan intelligence operative, Abus Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi (Masud), for his role in building the bomb that killed 270 individuals in the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988.[1]  

On December 17, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union, Grand Chamber, (CJEU or the Court) delivered a judgment in joined cases C-354/20 PPU and C-412/20 PPU Openbaar Ministerie (Independence of the issuing judicial authority). The ruling falls in a series of the Court’s decisions concerning grounds for a refusal of an execution of an European arrest warrant (EAW), most notably those issued by Polish authorities.

                On December 15, 2020, United States law enforcement in New York announced the unsealing of a nine-count indictment, charging Canadian fashion executive Peter J. Nygard, 79, with racketeering, sex trafficking, and related crimes arising out of a decades-long pattern of criminal conduct concerning at least dozens of victims in the U.S.,  the Bahamas, and Canada, among other locations.[1]

                On December 16, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Cholo Abdi Abdullah with six counts of terrorism-related offenses arising from his activities on behalf of the foreign terrorist organization al Shabaab, particularly conspiring to hijack aircraft in order to conduct a 9/11-style attack in the U.S.[1]