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FIFA Decision Confirms Long Arm of Honest Services Fraud
The U.S. government's lead role in the prosecution of corruption within the Zurich, Switzerland-based Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) may be a paradigmatic example of U.S. law enforcement acting as the world's policeman, reaching out around the globe to prosecute wrongdoing with little apparent connection to the land of baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. Didn't the Supreme Court remind everyone just a few years ago that U.S. statutes are presumed only to apply domestically? If corruption is based on foreign executives violating their duties of loyalty to foreign private entities, how does that translate into a violation of U.S. criminal law? Does it matter that the conduct in which the foreign executive engaged — commercial bribery — may not be illegal under the law of the executive's home country?
The Second Circuit answers these questions in its recent decision in United States v. Napout, 963 F.3d 163 (2d Cir. 2020), affirming the convictions of Juan Angel Napout, the former president of Paraguay's national soccer federation, and Jose Maria Marin, the former head of the Brazilian national soccer federation. In doing so, the decision joins a long line of authority illustrating that as long as the scheme entails some use of the U.S. banking system, the Department of Justice can venture broadly indeed to prosecute foreign nationals under U.S. criminal law for conduct that appears predominantly foreign in locus and effect, with little regard for whether that conduct would violate the criminal laws of their home country.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.