The International Enforcement Law Reporter is a monthly print and online journal covering news and trends in international enforcement law.
Since September 1985, the International Enforcement Law Reporter has analyzed the premier developments in both the substantive and procedural aspects of international enforcement law. Read by practitioners, academics, and politicians, the IELR is a valuable guide to the difficult and dynamic field of international law.
On January 20, 2022, Executive Director of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Ms. Ghada Fathi Wali commended Nigeria for successfully prosecuting 10 pirates, a first for the continent of Africa. A federal judge in Lagos, Nigeria handed each man a 12-year prison sentence for unlawfully boarding a Chinese fishing vessel and kidnapping the crew.[1]
In December 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a public version of report to congressional requesters regarding the use of virtual currencies to facilitate human and drug trafficking and possible solutions. Broadly speaking, the report recommends that the U.S. Treasury cooperate with local law enforcement to share typologies, methodologies, and region-specific information of traffickers in an effort to link them with industries that bolster the illicit practices.[1]
[1] Government Accountability Office, Virtual Currencies: Additional Information Could Improve Federal Agency Efforts to Counter Human and Drug Trafficking, Report to Congressional Requesters, December 2021.
On January 20, 2022, a federal grand jury in the United States District Court in Manhattan charged four senior Belarusian officials with conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy for diverting Ryanair Flight 4978 in order to arrest a dissident Belarusian journalist.[1]
[1] United States v. Leonid Mikalaevich Churo et al, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 22 Crim 38 Jan. 20, 2022 chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.justice.gov%2Fopa%2Fpress-release%2Ffile%2F1464061%2Fdownload&clen=3....
On January 18, 2022, the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a set of good practices concerning the use of global supervisory colleges in securities markets. It has the goal of increasing cooperation and information –sharing among securities regulators.[1]
[1] IOSCO, IOSCO good practices aim to foster cooperation through global supervisory colleges, IOSCO/MR/04/2022 Jan. 18, 2022.
On January 19, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest of Rodolphe Jaar, a dual Haitian-Chilean citizen, after he agreed to return from the Dominican Republic, where he was arrested, to the U.S.[1]
[1] U.S. Department of Justice, Second Man Charged in Connection with Plot to Kill Haitian President, Press Rel., Jan. 20, 2022.
On January 22, 2022, Statewatch revealed a restricted document, according to which the European Union had proposed Egypt for the joint presidency of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum.
With some delay, the Statewatch revealed a document, originated in the end of November 2021 the EU Council, which presents “Operational Action Plan 2022: Child sexual exploitation.”[1]
* Professor Plachta specializes in criminal law and international criminal law. He has authored numerous publication on a wide range of problems concerning law enforcement and international cooperation in criminal matters. He currently teaches criminal law and European criminal law at the University of Security in Poznan, Poland.
[1] Operational Action Plan 2022: Child sexual exploitation, November 30, 2021, Council doc. 13589/1/21 REV 1.
On December 21, 2021, NatWest Markets Plc (NatWest), a London-U.K.-based banking and financial services firm, pleaded guilty to spoofing in the markets for U.S. Treasury securities and futures contracts.[1]
[1] United States v. NatWest Markets Plc, U.S. Dist. Court, D. Conn., Crim. No. 3:21-cr-187 (OAW), Information; U.S. Department of Justice, NatWest Markets Pleads Guilty to Fraud in U.S. Treasury Markets, Dec. 21, 2021.
On December 16, 2021, Kibwe Ngoie-Ntombe, an Australian national living in Kelowna, British Colombia, pleaded guilty to charges of willful promotion of hatred arising from videos the defendant circulated online. He allegedly made threats towards people living in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).[1]
[1] Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Man charged by RCMP War Crimes team pleads guilty to Willful Promotion of Hatred, Dec. 17, 2021 https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2021/man-charged-rcmp-war-crimes-team-pleads-guilty-wilful-promotion-hatred.
On January 13, 2022, in a case that could set a precedent for other countries a German Court in Koblenz sentenced a former Syrian intelligence officer to life in prison for crimes against humanity, in the first criminal case over state-sponsored torture in Syria.[1]
[1] Erika Solomon, German court convicts former Syrian official of crimes against humanity, Fin. Times, Jan. 13, 2022.
