Please join us for a weekly series, hosted by Baker McKenzie’s North America Government Enforcement partners Tom Firestone and Jerome Tomas. This weekly briefing is available on demand and will cover hot topics and current enforcement actions related to white collar crime and criminal investigations in the US and abroad to arm you with the information you need for your business week. This week’s discussion covers new OECD guidance on anti-corruption and SEC enforcement on ProPetro Holding Corp.
On 2 December 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021 (Cth). The new laws are intended to modernise Australia’s autonomous sanctions regime by creating a framework to facilitate the establishment of a thematic sanctions regime to enable Australia to respond flexibly and swiftly to a range of situations of international concern. A key difference to the current sanctions regime is that the new laws will not be restricted in their operation to any particular country / jurisdiction.
On November 10, the Department of State, Department of Treasury, and Department of Commerce released an advisory titled “Considerations for US Companies and Organizations that Conduct Business in Cambodia within Key Sectors or in Partnership with High Risk Entities” (the “Cambodia Advisory”). The Cambodia Advisory is focused on corporations and, according to the accompanying press release, is meant to caution businesses currently operating, or considering operations, in Cambodia to be mindful of interactions with entities and sectors potentially involved in human rights abuses, criminal activities, and corrupt business practices. This blog post will be focused on the corruption and responsible sourcing risks highlighted by the Cambodia Advisory.
On November 10, 2021, President Biden signed the Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act into law, which calls for increased sanctions against Nicaragua. This followed November 7 elections in Nicaragua that allowed President Daniel Ortega to stay in power for a fourth consecutive term.
Join us for an international conference at which Baker McKenzie experts will share the most recent developments in the areas of sanctions, export controls, anti-corruption legislation, customs and Russian trade protectionism. The Russia Trade Days event will take place from 7 – 10 December 2021.
In November, the United States announced that Ethiopia, Guinea and Mali would be terminated from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”) trade preference program, unless they took urgent action to meet eligibility criteria by 1 January 2022. AGOA eligibility requirements include, among other things, that countries must follow the rule of law and implement economic policies that reduce poverty and combat corruption and bribery. Countries must also protect internationally recognized human and worker rights, and must not engage in activities that undermine national security interests.
Two years ago, on 5 November 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the formation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). DOJ press releases indicated the purpose was to create a joint, collaborative interagency partnership focused on deterring, detecting, investigating, and prosecuting antitrust crimes. The Strike Force has prosecutors from 22 US Attorneys’ Offices and 7 national law enforcement partner agencies, including the Antitrust Division of the DOJ, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Inspectors General for multiple Federal agencies. To date, the PCSF is active in almost a quarter of US judicial districts and coordinates with many US agencies and offices.
In keeping with tradition, we are pleased to invite you to our annual Global Year-End Review of Import/Export/Trade Compliance Developments. In lieu of our annual conference in Santa Clara, CA, we are excited to again provide a virtual offering available to all our clients and friends worldwide! The conference will be comprised of 75 minutes sessions over the course of three days. Please join us on November 16, 17 and 18 for any or all sessions.
The National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (“OGYÉI”) issued a Guidance on 20 September which contains useful information on the OGYÉI’s interpretation of the recent legislative amendments of Act XCVIII of 2006 concerning medicine promotion, events and contracts with HCPs.
Following this year’s Baker McKenzie Annual Compliance Conference, we are pleased to invite you to our Wrap Up Session on November 3 at 3.00 – 4.30 GMT. The session aims to bring together the key learnings, take-aways and recommendations from the conference. Representatives will attend from the five key compliance areas covered in the conference: antibribery and corruption, antitrust compliance, customs, supply chain, ESG compliance, export controls and sanctions.