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The Interpol silver notice: the pilot project in the fight against international money laundering

In recent years, there has been a significant rise in crimes committed by individuals operating internationally. The increasing internalisation of offences makes it all the more necessary to establish effective and consistent mechanisms for cooperation and intervention at a global level. In this context, Interpol plays a leading role among the international bodies charged with providing operational and informational support to countries around the world. The system includes several types of notices, each with specific and well-defined objectives, the most familiar being the red notice. Recently, however, attention has been focused on a new category of notice that is set to profoundly revolutionise the international investigative paradigm: the silver notice.

Released on Aug 17, 2025

When ESG fails: an Asia–Pacific perspective on the rising tide of criminal liability impacting the corporate sustainability landscape

In February 2024, legal leaders from across Asia gathered at the Asia Legal Priorities 2024 event, hosted by Thomson Reuters. One resounding message emerged: the role of the lawyer is transforming from corporate advisor to ethical gatekeeper and legal risk strategist. This conclusion echoes how lawyers are responding to environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks that have emerged as the blueprint for responsible corporate conduct. As ESG evolves from soft law guidance to enforceable obligations, an undercurrent is rising: the growing intersection between ESG failures and criminal liability. Around the globe, prosecutors, regulators and legislators are increasingly treating ESG breaches not just as ethical lapses or compliance failures, but as criminal offences.

Released on Aug 17, 2025

Personal responsibility, corporate liability and criminality: an Australian perspective on the new UK failure to prevent fraud offence

Due to commence in September 2025, the new failure to prevent fraud offence in the United Kingdom is likely to pose challenges in terms of both efforts to comply and in regard to defending corporations charged under the new legislation. Section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 criminalises the conduct of large organisations where a person associated with the organisation commits fraud with intent to benefit the organisation or anyone the person provides services to on behalf of the organisation. It is a defence if the organisation can prove that there were reasonable procedures in place to prevent fraud or that it was not reasonable for such procedures to be in place. While Australian law does not contain an equivalent offence, presently, at least, the state of failure to prevent offences in Australia provides an interesting backdrop to a discussion on the broader issues surrounding such offences.

Released on Aug 17, 2025

The endangered lawyer and the cost of independence

The IBA’s Annual Conference was fortuitous timing, coinciding with the anniversary of Mexican Independence and the inauguration of Mexico’s first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the following month. Mexico was a brilliant choice for the event, a true feast for the senses. This article provides an account of events at the Conference.

Released on Aug 17, 2025

The IBA’s 27th Annual Transnational Crime Conference in Santiago

From 14 to 16 May 2025, the Transnational Crime Conference, now in its 27th edition, took place in the vibrant city of Santiago, Chile. Organised and co-presented by the IBA Criminal Law Committee and the Business Crime Committee, supported by the Latin American Regional Forum, the event brought together leading practitioners, regulators, academics and corporate counsel from across the globe to discuss key developments and challenges in the fight against transnational crime.

Released on Aug 17, 2025

Co-Chairs’ message, Criminal Law Committee April 2025 ebulletin

Read the Criminal Law Committee Co-Chairs’ message from our April 2025 ebulletin.

Released on Apr 15, 2025

Transnational bribery and corruption investigations Down Under

As an Australian based criminal law practice, our firm has acted on behalf of clients in a number of finalised court cases and current investigations on behalf of corporate entities arising in countries such as Indonesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Singapore where many of these companies are domiciled. This work is generally done independently of the commercial law firms who act for the clients and involves a lot of careful thought and strategic design at an early stage.

Released on Apr 6, 2025

Silver bullet or Trojan Horse? INTERPOL’s new Silver Notice and the risks of asset tracing

On 10 January, INTERPOL issued its first-ever Silver Notice, marking a significant evolution in its approach to international asset tracing. The request, initiated by Italy, seeks to identify and locate assets allegedly linked to a senior mafia figure. While its immediate impact may be largely symbolic, the introduction of the Silver Notice signals an important development in cross-border financial crime enforcement.

Released on Apr 6, 2025

International Criminal Court (ICC) update – September 2024–March 2025

Over the past six months, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a number of significant steps in pursuance of its mandate to prosecute individuals for crimes of international concern, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. These developments underscore the ICC’s commitment to addressing grave violations of international law, although the institution continues to face challenges and criticisms.

Released on Apr 6, 2025

Right to be forgotten for old criminal convictions: a Luxembourg perspective based on a recent ruling

In a December 2024 ruling, the Court of Appeal of Luxembourg decided whether a person convicted of a criminal offence could demand the press to stop publishing their name and image in relation to a past case. This case illustrates the challenge of balancing two fundamental rights: freedom of expression and press, versus the protection of reputation and right to privacy. The plaintiff, a person in a public position, was involved in a widely covered legal case many years ago. Despite the time passed, media coverage continued including reports with identifying details about the individual.

Released on Apr 6, 2025

Extradition within international judicial cooperation: new challenges and future perspectives

Extradition is a cornerstone of international judicial cooperation, the discipline of which is articulated in a complex system of multilevel legislation, based on bilateral and multilateral treaties, as well as conventions adopted by supranational organisations, such as the UN and the Council of Europe. This legal mechanism satisfies the need to ensure the effective administration of justice in transnational crime cases, preventing individuals accused of serious crimes from escaping criminal consequences simply by crossing national borders.

Released on Apr 6, 2025

IBA Criminal Law Section at the 2024 IBA Annual Conference in Mexico City

The IBA’s Criminal Law Section (made up of the Criminal Law, Business Crime, Anti-Corruption and Asset Recovery Committees) has closed 2024 with another successful conference; this time in Mexico City, where around 5,000 delegates gathered to exchange ideas, discuss the latest hot topics in the legal world and – of course – experience Mexican food, music and culture (including a memorable trip to a Lucha Libre wrestling competition).

Released on Jan 13, 2025

IBA hosts largest transnational crime conference to date

The 26th Transnational Crime Conference, which took place between 8–10 May 2024 in Milan, Italy, was a resounding success. In fact, it has become the most well-attended international criminal law conference in the IBA’s history!

Released on May 21, 2024

When arbitration meets crime – Inaugural conference, São Paulo 2024

January 2024 saw the first When arbitration meets crime Conference, held in São Paulo, Brazil and co-presented by the IBA Arbitration Committee, the IBA Business Crime Committee, the IBA Criminal Law Committee, the IBA Asset Recovery Committee the IBA Litigation Committee and the IBA Latin America Regional Forum.

Released on Feb 27, 2024

IBA Criminal Law Section at the 2023 IBA Annual Conference, Paris

The IBA’s Annual Conference took place between 29 October and 3 November 2023 in Paris, France. As always, the Conference – the IBA’s largest event with some 10,000 participants from the legal profession – was a great opportunity to catch up with acquaintances and forge new links within the criminal law community and beyond.

Released on Feb 27, 2024

Lookback at Boston: IBA Transnational Crime Conference 2023

A report of the 25th Transnational Crime Conference, held 3–5 May 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Released on Jul 18, 2023

Internal investigations: recent developments

More and more over the recent years, with a trend that has crossed the borders of common law jurisdictions and has reached those of civil law, criminal law is becoming not only a matter of judicial defence of a case but also, especially in the corporate world, a matter of preventing misconducts and, in the case of those that have been committed, a matter of prompt and effective collection of items of evidence for their ascertainment.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Ten questions that commonly arise when conducting employee investigations

Ten questions that commonly arise when conducting employee investigations: different considerations in interviews solely for disciplinary proceedings versus those assessing whether criminal or regulatory misconduct has occurred

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Internal investigations and the many issues posed by Turkish law

Turkish law presents several issues to consider when designing and executing internal investigations, differing from European Union or United States law in some key areas.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Internal investigations in Switzerland: recent developments

Abstract This article aims at providing an overview of certain key issues that arise in the ambit of internal investigations in Switzerland. In particular, it discusses whistleblowing, data privacy, employment and client identification considerations, as well as legal privilege, before examining the role of penalty orders as an instrument in the resolution of investigations.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Internal investigations: recent developments in Spain

The authors briefly analyse the guidelines set forth by the Spanish Supreme Court’s Criminal Section on the control and monitoring of corporate electronic devices and communication channels in the framework of an internal investigation, as well as the criminal liability regime of a company’s director when

Released on Sep 2, 2022

The possibility to enter into a non-prosecution agreement in cases of internal investigation and self–reporting

In the case of an internal investigation, it is generally possible to enter a non-prosecution agreement. If as result of an internal investigation, a criminal offence is discovered, the corporation should submit the criminal application with all collected evidence during the process of internal investigation to the prosecutor’s office.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Internal investigations: the impact of the transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive

Currently, the public attention in Romania focuses on the law on the protection of whistleblowers transposing the European Union Directive 2019/1937 (the ‘Whistleblowing Directive’ or the ‘Directive’) into national law, given that this new legislation will bring many obligations to companies conducting internal investigations.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Internal corporate investigations in Poland: key aspects, specificity

The article concerns key aspects of conducting internal investigations in Poland, taking into account legal frameworks, evidence gathering process and risks related to investigative activities.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Internal investigations: recent developments in New Zealand

This short article provides an overview of the New Zealand approach to regulatory and similar investigations. Those are typically undertaken by a business in relation to some trigger which brings to light a regulatory problem, ethical challenge, or other misconduct (even potentially criminal behaviour). An internal investigation might take place on its own, or in parallel with an external regulatory investigation which the business must also deal with.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Recent developments regarding internal investigations conducted by attorneys-at-law in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, internal investigations can be conducted by a company’s attorney-at-law, as long as the attorney-at-law respects his or her rules of professional conduct. Recent developments did, in this regard, reveal risks for the

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Permitted foreign investigative activities (and powers of investigators in general) in Luxembourg, and legal privilege

Luxembourg has long been (wrongly) seen and painted by its opponents as an opaque jurisdiction where investigations rarely yield results. While this reputation may not have been totally undeserved in the last century (even if that is debatable), since the early 2000s, Luxembourg has seriously tightened its framework and should now definitely lose this reputation.

Released on Sep 2, 2022

Legal privilege in the context of internal investigations

In the organisation and conduct of an internal investigation in a company, the profile relating to the confidentiality, preservation and protection of its contents and findings, with respect to the interference of the judicial authority or third parties, is of particular importance, where criminal proceedings already exist, as well in the event that they can be instituted.

Released on Sep 1, 2022

Data protection considerations in internal investigations

When conducting an internal investigation, which includes a review of employees’ emails among its activities, various constraints regarding labour law and privacy issues must be taken into account. In Italy, the matter is governed by several provisions of different statutes all of which have to be taken into account and have an impact on the way internal investigations and emails review must be carried out.

Released on Sep 1, 2022

The possibility to enter into a non-prosecution agreement in case of internal investigation and self-reporting

While in the United States judicial system NPAs between companies and Public Prosecutors Offices are widely used in the criminal proceeding against corporations, in Italy, this mechanism of pre-trial diversion is not provided for by law, but there is a glimpse of an opening of the Public Prosecutor's Offices toward informal interlocutions with companies.

Released on Sep 1, 2022