Welcome to BakerHostetler's 2017 Mid-Year Cross-Border Government Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Review. This edition delivers news, analysis and insights into key developments in the cross-border investigations and enforcement landscape during the first half of 2017. Perhaps more than any other period covered by this report, the first half of 2017 saw a marked, and by some measures unprecedented, uptick in international coordination in cross-border civil and criminal investigations and enforcement. U.S. authorities continue aggressive enforcement in parallel with their international counterparts, targeting a wide range of abusive practices – from securities fraud, to money laundering and the manipulation of benchmark interest rates – that have effects across multiple borders. Meanwhile, U.S. criminal and regulatory authorities are increasingly joining forces with law enforcement agencies in other countries to cooperatively investigate and prosecute cases. The level of cooperation has become so extensive that it often operates on an informal basis, with prosecutors across jurisdictions sharing information without resorting to formal channels. As Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Trevor N. McFadden has put it, reciprocal information sharing is giving rise to an emerging trend: "an increase in multi-jurisdictional prosecutions of criminal conduct, particularly when that conduct is transnational in nature and when several countries have prosecutorial authority over it."
The 2017 Mid-Year Cross-Border Government Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Review serves as an important guide to navigating the challenges of complying with the myriad international legal and regulatory regimes, and the implications of operating in a cross-border environment. Part I of this report provides updates and analysis of cross-border investigations and enforcement actions, highlighting the role that increased information cross-sharing plays in the enforcement of violations that reach across national boundaries. Part II discusses the various parallels in law enforcement methods and priorities for the first half of 2017, including the increased use of deferred prosecution agreements to obtain cooperation in investigations, as well as the U.S. government's continued efforts to seize data stored overseas. Finally, Part III highlights some key practical considerations in defending against cross-border investigations and enforcement actions, with a focus on data privacy concerns and developments in the law surrounding the attorney-client privilege in non-U.S. jurisdictions.
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