On May 4, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the transfer of $311,797.876.11 to the Nigerian government pursuant to a February 3, 2020 trilateral agreement among the governments of the U.S., Nigeria, and Jersey.^[1] The agreement repatriates assets the U.S. forfeited that were traceable to the kleptocracy of former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.^[2]

On April 17, 2020 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the Italian multinational oil company Eni S.p.A. had agreed to settle charges that it had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Algeria between 2007 and 2010.   The SEC charged the company, whose ADR’s are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with violating the books and records provision of the FCPA.  Details of the case resemble Eni's alleged violations of the FCPA in Nigeria in 2010, suggesting a pattern within the company and highlighting the high risk of corruption in the extractive industries.

On March 6, 2020, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed an appeal from a decision dated August 16, 2019, when an Immigration Judge denied the respondent’s applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.  The decision determined that serious reasons exist to believe that the respondent alien had committed a serious nonpolitical crime prior to arriving in the United States.[1]

On May 14, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, by a  9-6 decision, overturned the decision of a smaller panel of the court, to allow the case to continue.[1] The District of Columbia and the State of Maryland (“Respondents”) filed the action in the District of Maryland against the President in his official capacity. 

On May 16, 2020, French law enforcement authorities arrested Félicien Kabuga, a fugitive for 26 years who was an important figure in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.  The arrest was part of a joint investigation between French authorities and the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).[1]

On May 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the unsealing of a six-count indictment against Seyed Sajjad Shahidian, 33, Vahid Vali, 33, and PAYMENT24 for engaging in financial transactions in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran.  The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit offenses against and to defraud the United States, wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft.[1]

On April 29, 2020, The World Bank debarred a manufacturing company, Mega-Mebiko JV LLC, for fraud involving the Syrdarya Water Project. Mega-Mebiko JV LLC, located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a small construction and vehicle repairs business. The company reportedly “misrepresented financial information, experience claims, and falsely stated that it had no conflicts of interest to win a project-financed contract, which are fraudulent practices under the World Bank Procurement Guidelines.”[1]

As the frauds and related crimes from Covid-19 occur, international organizations worldwide are providing guidance and assistance to their members to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes arising from the pandemic.  This article looks in particular at the efforts of the Egmont Group, IOSCO, and Eurojust.

On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued new export control measures devised to enforce further restrictions on exports and technology transfers to China, Russia, Venezuela.[1] Two final rules and a proposed rule are expected to prevent efforts by the aforementioned countries in acquiring U.S. goods and technology for military and intelligence operations.