DOJ Developments

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On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice, National Security Division (“DOJ”) issued a compliance guide (“Compliance Guide”), a set of frequently asked questions (“FAQs”), and a 90-day limited enforcement policy (“Enforcement Policy”) relating to implementation of the Data Security Program, codified at 28 C.F.R. Part 202 (“DSP”).  The DSP is a regulatory program designed to prevent certain countries of concern—China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela—and covered persons from having access to Americans’ bulk sensitive personal data and U.S. government-related data.  The DSP largely went into effect on April 8, 2025. Continue Reading DOJ Issues Additional Guidance as Data Security Program Enters into Effect; Limits Enforcement for First 90 Days

The long and winding road of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) litigation (as discussed in our most recent CTA client alert) has taken another turn, and this time companies are driving blind. On New Year’s Eve, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift the injunction imposed by a Texas court and let the law go into effect while the legal contest over the constitutionality of the law is pending. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court resoundingly agreed with the DOJ. In an 8-1 ruling, the nation’s highest Court lifted the stay on enforcement of the statute. One might assume that the Supreme Court ruling ended the injunction issue, but a separate order issued by a different federal judge in Texas blocking enforcement of the statute nationwide remains in place.Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Lifts Initial Injunction Against Enforcement Of Corporate Transparency Act, But A Separate Injunction Continues To Halt Implementation 

On December 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the previous grant of a stay of the injunction enjoining enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and beneficial ownership reporting rule.  As a result, the nationwide preliminary injunction originally granted by the district court is once again in effect pending consideration of the DOJ’s appeal by the Fifth Circuit’s merits panel.Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Reinstates CTA Injunction Pending Oral Arguments in March; FinCEN January 13 Deadline on Hold

In our prior notes of December 4, 9, and 13, 2024, we reported that (1) a district court in Texas issued a nationwide injunction halting implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), (2) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) acknowledged that companies need not file CTA mandated disclosures while that injunction remained in effect. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to stay the injunction pending appeal. The district court rejected that motion, but on December 23, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the government’s motion, staying the district court’s injunction and expediting briefing of the appeal. In so doing, the Court concluded that the government had “made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits in defending CTA’s constitutionality.” In addition, the Court rejected the plaintiffs’ warnings that “lifting the . . . injunction days before the compliance deadline would place an undue burden on them,” reasoning that the plaintiffs filed suit only months ago and the injunction had been in place mere weeks, whereas businesses have had “nearly four years . . . to prepare since Congress enacted the CTA, as well as the year since FinCEN announced the reporting deadline.”Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Pauses District Court CTA Injunction; FinCEN Extends Filing Deadline to January 13, 2025

As outlined in our prior update, on December 3, 2024, a Texas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its implementing regulations from taking effect nationwide. Continue Reading DOJ Appeals CTA Injunction; FinCEN Suspends Filing Requirement

We want to make you aware that yesterday, a Texas federal district court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the effectiveness of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its implementing regulations, which require certain companies (including certain non-U.S. companies registered to conduct business in the United States) to disclose beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.Continue Reading Federal District Court Enjoins Enforcement of U.S. Corporate Transparency Act

September 23, 2024, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri announced revisions to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Criminal Division’s compliance guidance, known as the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“ECCP”), which is used by DOJ prosecutors to assess the effectiveness of a company’s compliance program in the context of a corporate investigation.[1]  The updated compliance guidance incorporates changes that will focus on a company’s use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)[2] and other technologies, its use of data analytics as part of the compliance function, the incorporation of “lessons learned” to continuously enhance corporate compliance programs, and whistleblower reporting.[3] Continue Reading DOJ Announces Revisions to Compliance Guidance Focused on AI, Whistleblower Reporting, and Other Areas

There were significant developments last week in two recent criminal enforcement initiatives that were first announced earlier this year.  First, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) outlined the details of its long-anticipated whistleblower bounty program.[1]  Second, on July 30, 2024, President Biden signed into law a number of amendments to the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (“FEPA”).[2]  Both of these developments underscore the importance of investing in robust compliance programs and conducting timely investigations of potential misconduct.Continue Reading Two Enforcement Developments: DOJ Launches Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program and Amendments to the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act Are Passed into Law

On April 15, 2024, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) launched the Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosure for Individuals (“the Individual VSD Pilot Program”), which represents the latest in a string of announcements by DOJ focused on catching companies and individuals that engage in corporate crime.Continue Reading DOJ Announces New Pilot Program Seeking Voluntary Self-Disclosures from Culpable Individuals Aimed At Uncovering Corporate Misconduct 

On September 1, 2023, U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen of the Eastern District of New York granted a judgment of acquittal in the latest FIFA bribery prosecution, holding that the federal honest services statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, does not cover foreign commercial bribery in light of recent Supreme Court precedent.Continue Reading U.S. District Court Tosses FIFA Bribery Convictions, Finding Honest Services Statute Does Not Reach Foreign Commercial Bribery