Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) refers to a situation where a foreign entity has the power to directly or indirectly influence the management or operations of a company. FOCI can result from legal means like...more
2/26/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
America First Trade Policy ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cyber Espionage ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FOCI ,
Foreign Investment ,
Industrial Espionage ,
Joint Venture ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
U.S. Treasury
This shift in FCPA enforcement priorities is the latest move by the administration in its all-out war against cartels and TCOs that pose a threat to U.S. national security and its stated America First agenda. Additionally,...more
2/13/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cartels ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Significant Transnational Criminal Organization ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trump Administration
In response to compliance officer personal liability concerns and increasing SEC regulations, Commissioner Peirce proposed the creation of a compliance advisory committee, which would bring together SEC regulators and...more
11/4/2024
/ Advisory Committee ,
Compliance ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Liability ,
Personal Liability ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Bar Associations
Anyone who thought blockchain would keep their cryptocurrency transactions private from the IRS needs to think again. According to the First Circuit’s recent holding, cryptocurrency users do not have a Fourth Amendment...more
10/8/2024
/ Blockchain ,
Coinbase ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Fourth Amendment ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Investigations ,
Investors ,
IRS ,
John Doe Investigation ,
Law Enforcement ,
Personal Data ,
Summons ,
Third-Party
There was a flurry of DOJ whistleblower program activity over the last two weeks as the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY Program), District of New Jersey (DNJ Program), Southern District of...more
9/26/2024
/ Cooperation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Fraud ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Pilot Programs ,
Public Corruption ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Violations ,
U.S. Attorney ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Prompted by congressional scrutiny of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) efforts to root out those abusing lucrative Puerto Rico tax benefits, the agency has committed to devoting more resources to audits of those taking...more
Building on the recent passage of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), at the American Bar Association’s 2024 National Institute on White Collar Crime conference in San Francisco earlier this month (2024 ABA...more
3/19/2024
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Fraud ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
After years of explicitly warning taxpayers that failing to report or underreporting income from transactions involving digital assets would lead to criminal charges, federal prosecutors are now beginning to follow through on...more
2/23/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Gains ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinTech ,
Income Taxes ,
Indictments ,
IRS ,
Required Forms ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Returns ,
Virtual Currency
Crypto Firms Announce Initiatives in Payments, Mining, DAOs and More -
Recent reports provided details on new developments across the cryptocurrency market...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ), IRS Criminal Investigations (CI) and international tax authorities continue to prosecute tax abuses related to digital asset transactions. In imposing a multiyear prison sentence in a recent...more
Long-awaited enforcement actions may be coming soon for those who took advantage of the lucrative tax breaks offered by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico without meeting the requirements. Prosecutions may also follow for...more
7/27/2023
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Puerto Rico ,
Relief Measures ,
Residency Requirements ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Technology Sector ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In a recent ruling, a California federal judge held that Kraken, an online cryptocurrency exchange program, has to turn over user information to the IRS as a result of a John Doe summons originally served on Kraken in 2021....more
On Feb. 28, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that non-willful penalties related to FBARs apply to each report filed, not on a per-account basis. The 5-4 decision resolved a split between the Fifth and Ninth circuits that focused...more
Takeaways:
..2022 IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report highlights significant prosecutions and identifies cryptocurrency as an area of top priority heading into 2023.
..Criminal Investigation Chief Jim Lee...more
On November 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had seized more than $3.36 billion worth of bitcoin as part of a continuing investigation into a 10-year fraud involving the Silk Road dark web...more
11/14/2022
/ Asset Seizure ,
Bitcoin ,
Criminal Proceeds ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dark Web ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fraud ,
IRS ,
Silk Road ,
Wire Fraud
Key Takeaways -
..A court approved the issuance of a John Doe summons by the IRS to a bank aimed at identifying individuals who are potentially avoiding their income tax obligations relating to cryptocurrency...more
9/29/2022
/ Banks ,
Bitcoin ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Digital Assets ,
IRS ,
John Doe Investigation ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Summons ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Returns ,
Virtual Currency
Key Takeaways:
..The IRS issued its fourth John Doe summons against digital asset platform sFOX, seeking information regarding user identity and transaction activity over $20,000.
..The use of John Doe summonses...more
8/22/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Criminal Liability ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
IRS ,
John Doe Investigation ,
Summons ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Liability ,
Virtual Currency
Key Takeaways -
..In June 2022, the DOJ issued a Report recommending increased cooperation amongst international law enforcement to combat crimes involving digital assets.
..The Report identified characteristics...more
6/30/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cross-Border ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
FATF ,
Information Reports ,
Law Enforcement
Key Takeaways:
..The law regarding computation of FBAR penalties is unclear.
..The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case to settle a conflict among the circuit courts.
..Until the Supreme Court...more
Key Takeaways -
..Taxpayers could be criminally and civilly liable under state False Claims Act statutes for underreporting income linked to virtual currency.
..While the federal False Claims Act explicitly excludes tax...more
5/24/2022
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Fraud ,
Whistleblowers
Key Takeaways -
..SEC enforcement actions related to crypto and cyber are expected to significantly increase with the additional 20 staff assigned to the Division of Enforcement unit dedicated to these industries....more
Key Takeaways -
..The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) issued its first intelligence bulletin providing guidance to banks, law enforcement partners and private investigators regarding indicators of potential...more
5/4/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Fraud ,
International Tax Authority ,
International Tax Issues ,
IRS ,
Joint Task Force ,
Know Your Customers ,
Law Enforcement ,
Market Participants ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Tax Authority ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Fraud