On December 8, 2021, the European Commission released three key proposals aimed at streamlining and strengthening law enforcement in the European Union: Proposal for a regulation on automated data exchange for police cooperation (Prüm II), Proposal for a Council recommendation on operational police cooperation, and proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on information exchange between law enforcement authorities of member States.[1]

On November 16, 2021, Italian police broke up an international drug trafficking ring operated by the ‘Ndrangheta, an Italian mafia clan. The bust led to upwards of 100 arrest warrants nationwide—including six Italians arrested in Switzerland. Police also said the arrest culminated from three individual investigations into the mafia. Some suspects are on house arrest, while others are in a jail cell.

On November 26, 2021, the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), adopted Resolution 2406 (2021) on one of the key issues concerning fighting corruption, namely “General principles of political responsibility.” The debate and the Resolution were based on a comprehensive report that the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights prepared.^[1]

On December 7, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) with respect to soliciting public comments on potential requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for certain persons involved in real estate transactions to collect, report, and retain information. 

The dramatic situation at the border with three European Union (EU) countries, especially Poland, is alarming and explosive. Recent actions by the Belarus’s Lukashenko regime and its supporters are to be seen in this light – as a determined attempt to create a continuing and protracted crisis, as part of a broader concerted effort to destabilize the EU, testing its unity and resolve. These actions represent a real and present danger to the EU’s security.

On October 29, 2021, a Dutch woman, Farhia Hassan, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to face charges related to her alleged involvement in Somalian terrorist group al-Shabaab. She is facing up to 15 years in prison.

On November 25, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a preliminary judgment on what information must be provided by the requesting tax authority soliciting tax information on request.[1]

On November 16, 2021, the U.S. Attorney in San Diego partially unsealed an indictment in a U.S. District Court, charging 29 alleged members of an international money laundering organization linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Mexico.[1]  On November 10, 2021, Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr. of Tamaulipas, Mexico, pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering charges, admitting that he was the leader of a trafficking organization that transported ton-quantities of cocaine from South America to Mexico and into the U.S.[2]

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.