On October 24, 2018, the European Parliament approved a proposed regulation on the establishment, operation, and use of the Schengen Information System (SIS) in police and judicial criminal cooperation. This article summarizes the regulation.  

On October 18, 2018, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) Criminal Division in a speech at the Latin Lawyer/Global Investigations Review and Anti-Corruption and Investigations conference in São Paulo, Brazil, discussed the implementation of the DOJ’s coordinated resolutions policies announced on May 9, 2018.

On October 19, 2018, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and FBI Director Christopher Wray announced that a criminal complaint was unsealed in Alexandria, Virginia, charging a Russian national for her alleged role in a Russian conspiracy to interfere in the U.S. political system, including the 2018 midterm election.

On October 23, 2018, the organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank published a report, entitled Improving Co-operation between Tax Authorities and Anti-Corruption Authorities in Combating Tax Crime and Corruption  (hereafter “Improving Cooperation”) on a whole-of-government approach to combating financial crimes, in particular tax and corruption crimes.

On October 16, 2018, the OECD announced the issue of guidance on residence and citizenship by investment (CBI/RBI) schemes, often referred to as golden passports or visas, as potential mechanisms for misuse in order to hide assets held abroad and circumvent reporting under the OECD/G20 Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

On October 3, 2018, the Supreme Court of Peru overturned the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori and ordered him to complete his sentence for crimes against humanity committed by his administration in the 1990s.[1] The Supreme Court Judge Hugo Nunez ordered his immediate capture and return to prison.

On October 12, 2018, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution and Recommendation on the need for minimum standards for trial waiver systems. The debate as well as recommendation and resolution were based on a comprehensive Report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.

On October 10, 2018, U.S. law enforcement authorities announced the arrest and charging of  Yanjun Xu, aka Qu Hui, aka Zhang Hui, a Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSSS) operative, with conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and steal trade secrets from multiple U.S. aviation and aerospace companies.  On October 9, the Belgian government extradited Xu to the U.S.

On October 12, 2018, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution 2246 (2018) on the crash of Polish Air Force Tu-154M, on 10 April 2010, transporting the Polish State delegation on the Russian Federation's territory. The debate and resolution were based on an earlier report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights.

On October 16, 2018, the United States government, through its Departments of Justice (DOJ), Treasury, and State, announced a series of measures to target and dismantle the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), one of the largest, most dangerous drug cartels operating in Mexico.  The measures include the unsealing of 15 indictments, the State Department’s approval of large rewards, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designations, and the establishment of a citizen tip line.[1]