On November 8, 2021, United States law enforcement officials announced the arrest on November 3 of Herdade Lokua, 23, and Jospin Mujangi, of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The arrest occurred in Edmonds, Washington, a bedroom community of Seattle.  A federal grand jury indicted them for conspiracy, money laundering, and smuggling and Lacey Act violations for trafficking elephant ivory and white rhinoceros horn from DRC to Seattle.[1]

On November 8, 2021, the Justice Department announced law enforcement actions against two foreign nationals charged with using Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware to attack businesses and government entities in the United States.[1]  Also, on November 8, Europol announced Romanian authorities arrested two individuals suspected of cyber-attacks using the Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware.[2]

On July 27, 2021, the Federal Public Service Finance of Belgium (FPSF Belgium) brought seven lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against pension plans, a trust, FGC Securities and FGC Holdings, Delaware limited liability companies, and individuals living in the United States who are allegedly associated with the pension plans.[1]  This article discusses, in particular, the suit against Lion Advisory Inc. Pension Plan, although the suits are almost identical in terms of the fact patterns and legal theories.   Significantly, like the cases brought by the Danish Tax Authority, this case is brought in the Southern District of New York with hopes that it will overcome the common law revenue rule, which has prevented foreign tax authorities from directly litigating in the U.S.

On November 5, 2021, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan Q.C., announced his office has decided to start an investigation into the situation in Venezuela.  His announcement followed a visit between October 31, 2021 to November 3, 2021, to Venezuela and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Venezuela with respect to the investigation.[1]

On October 20, 2021, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that Hugo Carvajal Barrios, the former head of intelligence in Venezuela, should be extradited to the United States.[1]  However, on October 29, the same court suspended his extradition.

On October 26, 2021, agencies in the U.S. and European Union (EU) announced the seizure of cash, virtual currencies, and goods, in addition to the arrests of 150 alleged suspects, in a follow-up operation to the earlier takedown of dark web network DarkMarket.^[1]  The operation, entitled Operation DarkHunTOR, came from a series of coordinated actions from government and law enforcement agencies in Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.^[2]  The operation was carried out in the framework of the EU’s security initiative EMPACT, the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats.^[3]

On October 21, 2021, the members of the European Parliament approved a resolution on the Pandora Papers: implications for the efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and tax avoidance, recommending new enforcement and prevention measures.[1]

On October 21, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a statement on the results of the fifth Plenary of the FATF under the German Presidency.

In October 2021, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York announced its collaboration with U.S. investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s office to determine if the artifacts in the museum were stolen from Cambodia.[1]

On October 22, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in United States v. Halkbank, 20 Cr. 3499, directing that a criminal prosecution against sovereign-owned Halkbank for money-laundering and related charges could proceed.  The opinion surveyed several complex issues relating to prosecution of sovereign owned enterprises (SOEs) under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).  While it resolved some of these questions, it carefully avoided addressing others; as a result, several questions still lurk in this complex and important area.