On June 24, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced the return by a federal grand jury of a second superseding indictment, charging Julian P. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. The new indictment does not add any additional counts to the prior 18-count superseding indictment returned against Assange in May 2019. However, it widens the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was already charged.

                On June 19, 2020, China indicted two Canadian nationals on espionage charges, a development Canada says is retaliation for the arrest and processing of the extradition request by the United States against Huawei Technologies Company chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.[1]   The indictment followed 557 days of interrogation and incarceration in places where the lights are kept on day and night.[2]

                On May 22, 2020, Ireland extradited Irish national John Slattery to the United States in response to an extradition request by the United States for his participation in trafficking horns from black rhinoceros.[1]

                On June 11, 2020, United States law enforcement arrested Michael Sang Correa, 41, a Gambian national, for torture charges arising out of his actions intended to cause severe physical pain and suffering on individuals in his custody and control in The Gambia in 2006.[1]

            The United States offers aid to the justice sectors and security forces of many Central American countries as a cornerstone policy to combat trafficking routes through the Northern Triangle.[1] Honduras is one of the most at risk countries in this region, where the illegal drug trade and resulting corruption take a heavy toll on the state’s institutions.[2] Consequently, the continuation and expansion of aid programs to Honduras is seen as critical to success in stabilizing the region and disrupting the flow of narcotics into the United States. The Honduran government recently passed the 2020 Air Sovereignty Law to help ensure the ongoing receipt of this aid and secure access to U.S. narcotics intelligence, but the new law comes amidst a concerning series of events.

On April 22, 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found the United States responsible for violating the human rights of Djamel Ameziane, a former detainee at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.[1]

                On May 4, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the transfer of $311,797.876.11 to the Nigerian government pursuant to a February 3, 2020 trilateral agreement among the governments of the U.S., Nigeria, and Jersey.^[1] The agreement repatriates assets the U.S. forfeited that were traceable to the kleptocracy of former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.^[2]

On May 29, 2020, Sweden extradited a former Chinese official who was a fugitive for over five years. On June 1, 2020, Jianjun Qiao, 56, attended his arraignment in United States District Court in Los Angeles, California.[1]

                On June 11, 2020, United States law enforcement agents arrested Inigo Philbrick, an art dealer specializing in post-war and contemporary fine art, in Vanuatu.  The arrest followed Vanuatu’s expulsion of Philbrick at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea, as a result charges in a Criminal Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.[1]

            On June 1, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a revision of its guidance on the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.[1] The Guidance sets forth for companies general principles and elements to consider when designing, implementing, and updating their compliance policies and procedures. The DOJ considers, in conducting an investigation of a corporation, whether to bring charges and negotiate plea or other agreements.[2]  In addition, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines advise that consideration be given to whether the corporation had in place at the time of the misconduct an effective compliance program for purposes of calculating the appropriate organizational criminal fee.[3] This article highlights the new Guidance and action items that entities with compliance programs should consider in light of the new Guidance.