On November 22, 2021, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation announced that, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State, it repatriated a trove of stolen artifacts to the Republic of Mali. ICE transferred the artifacts to Ambassador Issa Konfourou, permanent representative of Mali to the United Nations.[1]

On October 28, 2021, in Bogota, Colombia, two events took place, which is significant for both Colombia and the International Criminal Court (ICC).  ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC, head of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), announced that the + termination of the preliminary examination regarding the situation in Colombia. At the same time, the Prosecutor concluded a Cooperation Agreement with the Government of Colombia that renews the commitment of the OTP with Colombia’s accountability mechanisms.[1] While marking a new chapter for complementarity in the country, it is also the first time the Office concluded such an agreement with a State Party.
 

                On November 18, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice calling attention to the increasing trend in environmental crimes and associated illicit financial activity.[1]

Jineth Bedoya Lima is an internationally known Colombian journalist whose notoriety has come at enormous personal cost. In 2011, the Bedoya Lima y Otra v. Colombia was brought on her behalf before the Inter American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)  for events on May 25, 2000.  The case has now concluded, and after a lengthy process, Bedoya has been granted an important judgment against Colombia by the IACHR.  Relief includes directives for training and education to prevent future violence against female journalists. 

As the Convention on Cybercrime (“Budapest Convention”) turns 20, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, at its 1417bis meeting on November 17, 2021, has adopted a Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on enhanced cooperation and the disclosure of electronic evidence (“Second Additional Protocol”).

On November 12, 2021, the United States Department of Justice announced the extradition on November 10, 2021, of a Mexican national to face international drug trafficking charges.  Jose González-Valencia, also known as Jafett Arias-Becerra, La Chepa, Camaron, and Santy, 46, made his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on November 11.  He was detained pending his appearance the following afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.[1]  On November 15, 2021, Mexican authorities arrested Rosalina González-Valencia, the defendant’s sister and the wife of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the head of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).[2]

On October 25, 2021, a German Court sentenced a German woman turned Islamic State (ISIS) supporter to 10 years of imprisonment for her involvement in the death of a Yazidi girl. This is the first conviction against an Islamic State member involved in a Yazidi persecution. Other nations could follow suit and bring ISIS perpetrators of Yazidi persecution accountable with the application of universal jurisdiction, the doctrine that allows any nation to prosecute crimes against humanity regardless of link between prosecuting country and location of a given crime.

On November 9, 2021, Mashreqbank entered into joint settlements with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB), and the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS).  Mashreqbank agreed to pay $100 million in penalties pursuant to a Consent Order with the DFS.  It agreed to make significant changes in its compliance functions.  The wrongdoing arose from illegal and non-transparent payments related to Sudan that Mashreqbank processed through financial institutions in New York State, including Mashreqbank’s own New York Branch, between 2005 and 2014.

Israeli technology firm, NSO Group, faces an uncertain future after the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisted the firm on November 3, 2021, causing CEO-designate Isaac Benbenisti to quit and financial confidence in the company to plummet.^[1]  The blacklisting comes after mounting concerns over NSO Group’s Pegasus, a spyware purportedly used to maliciously target journalists, activists, and politicians around the world.

On November 9, 2021, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas announced that Andrew Scott Pierson, 47, of Jay, Oklahoma, has pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy, resulting in the trafficking of firearms to Mexican cartels as part of “operation Thor’s Hammer,” an effort to disrupt cartels’ access to firearms. U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller, who presided over the plea, will sentence Pierson at a later date.  Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross said, “(t)his case is the first successful prosecution in the country of the exportation and manufacturing of Mexican cartel firearms.”[1]