On April 11, 2025, the US Department of Justice National Security Division (“DOJ”) took steps to implement its December 2024 Final Rule on Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries (“Final Rule”). Specifically, the DOJ issued answers to more than 100 Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), published a Compliance Guide, and issued a Limited Enforcement Policy for the first 90 days of the Final Rule. This Baker McKenzie Client Alert outlines key points regarding the FAQs,…
On October 28, 2024, the US Treasury Department (“Treasury”) issued a long-anticipated final rule (“Final Rule”)—effective January 2, 2025—implementing a targeted outbound investment compliance regime called for by Executive Order (“EO”) 14105 issued by President Biden on August 9, 2023. The Final Rule applies to investments by, or in some circumstances directed by, US Persons in Chinese businesses involving specified categories of technologies — namely: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence (AI).…
As regulations evolve and enforcement intensifies, effective documentation of sanctions investigation results has never been more critical. Proper documentation is crucial not only for maintaining legal privileges and the confidentiality of sensitive information, but also for supporting legal defenses in potential regulatory enforcement in the future. Additionally, companies may have an obligation to disclose investigation results to their external auditors, shareholders, and other stakeholders (e.g., transaction counterparties), underscoring the importance of appropriate documentation to ensure…
On June 18, 2024, Baker McKenzie, in partnership with the International Compliance Professionals Association, hosted a virtual fireside chat with Lawrence Scheinert, the Associate Director for Compliance and Enforcement at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in the US Treasury Department. The webinar attracted 1640 registrations from across industry, with participants raising a wide variety of questions. In the discussion with Baker McKenzie partners, led by Julia Webster (Toronto) with questions from Janet Kim…