The Armenian and Azerbaijani governments are maneuvering to start investigations and prosecutions of alleged war crimes during the conflict between the two countries from September 27 to  November 10, 2020.

The enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA) has brought new opportunities for foreign governments and stakeholders interested in stopping international money laundering.  Until now, foreign governments have had difficulty maintaining civil actions in the United States to hold accountable persons participating in criminal activity, such as corruption, tax crimes, fraud, drug trafficking, trafficking of persons, etc. This article discusses some of the opportunities as a result of the AMLA: namely the Kleptocracy Recovery Rewards Act (KARRA); and the whistleblower provisions of the AMLA.

The Black Axe, a Nigerian fraternity organization turned mafia, has been a target of law enforcement in both the U.S. and abroad. Recently, the Italian police arrested several members of the Black Axe for fraud and other serious crimes. A few years ago, the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom similarly charged members of the Black Axe. The Black Axe’s crimes reach far beyond borders and thus should promote the collaboration of law enforcement across nations to combat organized crime. 

On April 29, 2021, the State Minister for Culture and Media of the German Government, announced the signing by the ministry and the Nigerian Government of a joint declaration to return Benin bronzes in German museums.[1]

On April 27, 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced a new counter-network targeting operation focused on transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) affiliated with the smuggling of migrants.[1] On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned one current and one former Guatemalan government official for their roles in corruption in Guatemala.[2]

On March 26, 2021, the European Union Committee (the Committee) of the UK House of Lords (HL) published its report on the implications for law enforcement and criminal judicial cooperation between the EU and UK from the end of the transition period.

In 2019, Johannes Stefannson, a former employee of Samherji, an Icelandic fishing company, realized that his employer was exploiting and bribing Namibian officials for fishing rights. Stefannson terminated his employment with Samherji and released documents to Wikileaks. Leaked documents set out a series of events that led to Samherji’s prosecution in Namibia.[1] Two years later, in April 2021, three Samherji employees face extradition to Namibia to stand trial. The Namibian officials who allegedly partook in the scandal are expected to appear in court with the Samherji employees.[2] While the Fishrot trial is far from over, it demonstrates much-needed reform to not only Namibia’s fishing industry but its anti-corruption policy.

            On April 19, 2021, the Rwandan government released a report that found France enabled the genocide in Rwanda that left as many as 800,000 dead in 1994. [1]

On April 22, 2021, at its 14^th sitting, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution and Recommendation on the arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021. The debate as well as the Resolution and Recommendation were based on a Report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.^[1]

On April 26, 2021, Switzerland’s Migros Bank announced it has agreed to enter into a settlement with German prosecutors to pay $2.9 million to resolve allegations it permitted and helped German taxpayers to conceal assets from the German tax authorities.[1]