Tagged: Criminal

EU Enacts New Directive Establishing Criminal Offenses for the Violation of Restrictive Measures

By: Daniela Melendez, Associate at The Volkov Law Group, and Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Compliance Manager. Daniela can be reached at [email protected] and Alex can be reached out at [email protected]. On April 24, 2024, the European Union (“EU”) officially adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1226 on the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures and amending Directive (EU) 2018/1673 (the “Directive”). A copy of the...

DOJ and CFTC Bring Charges Against Crypto Exchange KuCoin for AML and KYC Failures

DOJ and CFTC Bring Charges Against Crypto Exchange KuCoin for AML and KYC Failures

On March 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) unsealed an indictment against prominent cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and two of its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang.  The DOJ charged the exchange and its founders with conspiracy and substantive charges related to Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) violations and operating an unlicensed money transmitter business.  These charges were filed in the Southern District of New...

DOJ Charges Two Oil and Gas Traders with FCPA Bribery Scheme Involving Petrobras

DOJ Charges Two Oil and Gas Traders with FCPA Bribery Scheme Involving Petrobras

In its first enforcement action of 2023, the Justice Department charged a Connecticut man and a foreign national with FCPA bribery and money laundering charges stemming from a bribery scheme to secure contracts with Petrobras in Brazil.  Glenn Oztemel was a senior oil and gas trader at two trading companies., and Eduardo Innecco, a dual Italian and Brazilian citizen, was an oil and gas broker...

Goldman Sachs Official Indicted Over Ghana Bribery Scheme (Part I of II)

Goldman Sachs Official Indicted Over Ghana Bribery Scheme (Part I of II)

Talk about a reminder of the past, Asante Berko, a former Executive Director in Goldman Sachs, recently was arrested in London on criminal FCPA charges arising from his involvement in a bribery scheme in Ghana. The surprising part of the case was the delay in his arrest – over 2 years.  In 2020, Berko was charged by the SEC for FCPA violations.  He settled the...

Three Former Executives from Alstom and Marubeni Charged with Criminal FCPA Violations in Indonesia

Three Former Executives from Alstom and Marubeni Charged with Criminal FCPA Violations in Indonesia

In its continuing aggressive FCPA criminal enforcement program, DOJ announced the indictment of two former Alstom executives and a former Marubeni executive with FCPA violations arising from a bribery scheme in Indonesia.  A copy of the indictment is here. The three former executives included: Reza Moenaf, the former president of Alstom’s Indonesia subsidiary; Eko Sulianto, the former director of sales of Alstom’s Indonesia subsidiary; and...