On January 17, 2023, the Supreme Court heard argument in Halkbank v. United States, Dkt. No. 21-1450.  That argument confirmed two things: the issue before the Court is very consequential, and all of the potential outcomes under consideration create thorny problems of interpretation or anomalies in their execution.  The Court’s ultimate decision, which remains very unclear after the argument, may depend on whether it will be strictly guided by the words actually used by Congress even in face of strong reason to doubt whether Congress actually intended that result.

On January 1, 2023, in a major international police operation led by the United Arab Emirates, based on information shared through Interpol, law enforcement authorities arrested in Sudan Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam (‘Kidane), an Eritrean national wanted for migrant smuggling, human trafficking and other related crimes. [1]

Colombian businessman Alex Saab Moran, was arrested in Cabo Verde (formerly Cape Verde) for extradition to the United States. To some, he is a hero kidnapped by the Americans while on a humanitarian mission to Iran; ^[1]  to others, he is a highly corrupt businessman, enriching himself while the Venezuelan people suffer.  ^[2]  

On December 9, 2022, the Belgian police executed a 20 different raids on 19 addresses across Brussels to investigate a suspected corruption incident.  During the enforcement action, Belgian police arrested Alexandros Kaili and found “several hundred thousand euros” on his person.  Alexandros is the father of European Parliament vice president Eva Kaili and the circumstances of his detention resulted in his daughter losing diplomatic immunity and allowed police to search her property.  Belgian police would eventually find 150,000 in an apartment she shared with her partner Francesco Giorgi and conduct similar raids on various high-level European officials, the results of which culminated into a continent-shaking scandal called Qatargate.

On December 22, 2022, Europol, Eurojust, and the European Judicial Network published  the 2022 edition of the SIRIUS European Union (EU) Digital Evidence Situation Report. This report gives the results of SIRIUS’ research on experiences of EU Member States’ competent authorities, as well as Online Service Providers (OSPs), with cross-border access to digital evidence in criminal investigations.  

With a porous long border, Mexico and the U.S.A. have a long history on how to deal with crime that goes beyond their respective borders. To pursue fugitives charged with committing criminal acts in their territory but that have crossed the border, both neighbors have gone through periods of hesitance, distrust, skepticism, and suspicion, to periods of trust, confidence and institution building. They have had to devise mechanisms and alternatives, through mutual understanding, respect of the rule of law and sovereignty, and above all, constant dialogue. It has been cooperation amidst confrontation in order to attain justice in their respective legal systems. Nonetheless, today there are voices which consider the relationship as going through a 15-year low.[1]

On Dec. 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 2617). As part of Omnibus Spending bill, Section 1708 which allows the U.S. to transfer to Ukraine assets forfeited from Russian oligarchs.

International law enforcement continues to exert pressure on the Kinahan cartel, initially an allegedly Irish based transnational organized crime organized, now based in the United Arab Emirates

On January 10, 2023, a federal judge in Amarillo sentenced Dr. Richard Kazmaier, 55, to six months in prison, three years of post-release supervision, and a $5,000 fine.  On August 19, 2022, Kazmaier pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act felony for importing protected wildlife into the United States without declaring it or obtaining the required permits.[1]

On December 28, 2022, a Dubai Court of Appeal approved the extradition to Denmark of British hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah, who is accused of leading a $1.7 billion cum-ex dividend fraud tax scheme.[1]