On Tuesday, June 26, 2018, the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing titled, Protecting Our Elections: Examining Shell Companies and Virtual Currencies as Avenues for Foreign Interference. This article highlights the key themes of the hearing, and identifies its main conclusions.

 The Criminal Magisterial Bench Book, the first of its kind in the region, is an initiative of the Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) Project. The Bench Book project, which commenced in 2016, is led by a Criminal Bench Book Committee comprising senior judicial officers and representatives of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and the JURIST Project. When completed, it will serve as a practitioner tool for all magistrates across CARICOM and will contribute to region-wide judicial institutional strengthening. On Saturday March 17, 2018 delegates representing the magisterial bench of the Commonwealth Caribbean, gathered at the Judicial Education Institute (JEI) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to review the draft manuscript for the Bench Book. Details of the consultation are available at: http://www.juristproject.org/news-media/news-stories/309-bench-book-can-help-improve-criminal-justice-system.

 The Criminal Magisterial Bench Book, the first of its kind in the region, is an initiative of the Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) Project. The Bench Book project, which commenced in 2016, is led by a Criminal Bench Book Committee comprising senior judicial officers and representatives of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and the JURIST Project. When completed, it will serve as a practitioner tool for all magistrates across CARICOM and will contribute to region-wide judicial institutional strengthening. On Saturday March 17, 2018 delegates representing the magisterial bench of the Commonwealth Caribbean, gathered at the Judicial Education Institute (JEI) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to review the draft manuscript for the Bench Book. Details of the consultation are available at: http://www.juristproject.org/news-media/news-stories/309-bench-book-can-help-improve-criminal-justice-system.

On June 27, 2018, Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held a hearing  on the decisions made by the Committee on Rules of Procedure on April 24, 2018 regarding the recommendations and conclusions of the Independent Investigation Body on the allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly (IBAC) relating to the behavior of Assembly members mentioned in its report, and pursuant to the procedure provided for in the Code of Conduct of members of the Parliamentary Assembly (paragraphs 20 et seq.).

At its 27^th meeting held on June 29, 2018, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted its resolution and recommendation on deliberate destruction and illegal trafficking of cultural heritage. The debate as well as recommendation and resolution were based on a Report prepared by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media.

On July 2, 2018, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs announced an alliance on tax enforcement between the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States and Australia to combat international tax crime and money laundering.  Members include the heads of tax crime and senior officials from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACAC) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

In April 6, 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adopted a new framework for review anti-corruption, anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism, tax transparency, and good governance.

On June 25, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced, as part of Operation Keyboard Warrior, the arrests of eight individuals for their roles in a widespread, Africa-based cyber conspiracy that allegedly defrauded U.S. companies and citizens of approximately $15 million since at least 2012.  Operation Keyboard Warrior is an initiative coordinated by the United States and international law enforcement officials to disrupt online fraud perpetrated from Africa.

On June 8, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice released over 50 FARA advisory opinions.  This article is a summary of some of the useful points. The FARA Registration Unit has issued 49 advisory opinions since January 1, 2010, which are being posted on the FARA.gov website together with three other letters sent in response to requests for general information.  The opinions and letters are organized on the website by topic of inquiry or the aspects of the statute they discuss.  Any proprietary information, including any information that would identify the parties who made the requests has been redacted. The FARA Unit will post future advisory opinions in a similar manner on a periodic basis.

On May 9^th and May 23^rd, in U.S. v. Kolsuz and U.S. v. Touset, the Fourth and Eleven Circuits, respectively, decided that U.S. border patrol agents can search a traveler’s electronic devices without a warrant.  U.S. prosecutors charged Kolsuz, a Turkish national, with attempting to export various firearms from the U.S. without a warrant. Touset, a U.S. citizen living in Georgia, was indicted for knowingly receiving child pornography, knowingly transporting it, and knowingly possessing a laptop and storage device containing child pornography.