United States: Government, Public Sector

North Carolina's Gift Ban includes several exceptions beyond food and beverages that allow event hosts to provide benefits to state officials.

A federal court in Texas has vacated FinCEN's Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule, suspending enforcement and eliminating current reporting obligations for title companies and closing agents. FinCEN has issued updated guidance confirming no liability for non-filing during the vacatur period, though the agency has appealed the decision and the rule may be reinstated pending Fifth Circuit review.

Regulators across jurisdictions are increasing scrutiny of financial institutions’ anti-money laundering controls, with enforcement efforts focusing not only on whether compliance frameworks exist, but on whether they function effectively in practice. Those themes emerged during WLG’s recent Compliance & Investigations Group discussion, where Isadora Fingermann and Karla Lini Maeji of TozziniFreire, Theresa Sauerwein of Taylor Wessing, and Suegene Ang of WongPartnership examined how AML enforcement is evolving in Brazil, Germany, Singapore, and beyond.