On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (“Order”) directing a 6-month moratorium on the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), while the Attorney General revises Department of Justice (DOJ) policies and guidelines governing FCPA enforcement. The Order instructs that these changes be made in the interest of promoting US companies’ ability to compete in foreign markets. While the Order introduces uncertainty for the future of FCPA enforcement, companies are advised to stay the course on compliance and exercise caution when considering any shifts in compliance practices and resourcing in the near term.

A recent memorandum from Attorney General Pam Bondi signals a potential shift in the Department of Justice’s FCPA enforcement priorities. According to the memorandum, FCPA enforcement should prioritize foreign bribery linked to Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), potentially altering the landscape of white-collar corporate enforcement. While traditional FCPA cases will likely continue, the new directive grants local US Attorneys’ Offices greater latitude in conducting FCPA investigations touching on Cartels and TCOs.

In a landmark decision on July 18, 2024, Judge Paul Englemayer of the Southern District of New York dismissed most charges in the SEC’s enforcement action against SolarWinds and its CISO, Timothy Brown. The court ruled that cybersecurity controls are not part of a company’s “system of internal accounting controls” under Section 13(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the Exchange Act, dismissing these claims. However, the court upheld charges that SolarWinds and Brown misled investors with public statements about their cybersecurity program. This case, stemming from the SUNBURST attack, highlights the importance of detailed risk disclosures and accurate public-facing statements on cybersecurity.

In Snyder v. United States, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh, significantly limited the federal statute criminalizing gratuities in state and local jurisdictions. Snyder, a mayor, awarded a USD 1.3 million contract and received a USD 13,000 payment from the benefiting company. The Supreme Court ruled that the relevant statute, Title 18 section 666, applies only to bribes paid or promised before an official act, not after-the-fact gratuities.

The last thirty days in September, the end of the US federal government’s fiscal year, is generally an important time to analyze enforcement activity by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In this short video, Baker McKenzie Partner Peter Chan, a former SEC Assistant Director of Enforcement, provides his insights regarding the importance of the timing of some of these enforcement actions.

On 4 October 2023, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco of the U.S. Department of Justice announced a new DOJ-wide policy that seeks to provide greater certainty as to the potential benefits to acquirers that uncover criminal conduct at a target company. The DOJ’s Mergers & Acquisitions Safe Harbor Policy for voluntary self-disclosures provides greater certainty to acquirers who self-report within the safe harbor period, fully cooperate with the DOJ in its investigation, and engage in requisite, timely, and appropriate remediation, pay restitution, and disgorge any ill-gotten gains.

On 26 July 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the final rules for Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure. The SEC first proposed amendments to its rules on disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident reporting by public companies on 9 March 2022.

Please join us for a weekly series, hosted by Baker McKenzie’s North America Government Enforcement partners Jeffrey Martino 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 will cover the following:
• DOJ’s Scrutiny on Interlocking Directorates spurs Board resignations
• DOJ files its first criminal Section 2 attempted monopolization case in decades

Please join us for a weekly series, hosted by Baker McKenzie’s North America Government Enforcement partners Jeffrey Martino 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. The latest video chat in the series includes a deep dive into DOJ’s focus on consumer fraud, and the SEC crypto touting case against Kim Kardashian.

Please join us for a weekly series, hosted by Baker McKenzie’s North America Government Enforcement partners Jeffrey Martino 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 Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s memorandum revising Federal Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies.