Latest news with #TransnationalCriminalOrganizations
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
New DOJ Whistleblower Policy Bad News For Employers Of Immigrants And H-1B Visa Holders
A seal for the Department of Justice is seen on a podium on March 21, 2024. Under a new policy, the ... More Justice Department will prioritize whistleblower tips about employers accused of violating federal immigration law. (Photo by) Under a new policy, the Justice Department will prioritize whistleblower tips about employers accused of violating federal immigration law. The policy would allow the DOJ to expand efforts to prosecute employers of immigrants and H-1B visa holders. A Department of Justice memo issued in February 2025 directed federal prosecutors to prioritize immigration-related cases. The new whistleblower policy confirms that the Trump administration's top issue remains immigration enforcement. Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the criminal division at the Department of Justice, announced an expansion of the DOJ's whistleblower program to include immigration and other areas. 'We have made changes to our corporate whistleblower program to reflect our focus on the worst actors and most egregious crimes,' Galeotti told attendees at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference on May 12, 2025. 'To do this, I asked MLARS [Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section] and Fraud to review the corporate whistleblower awards pilot program and recommend additional areas of focus reflecting the Administration's priorities.' 'Today, we have added the following priority areas for tips: procurement and federal program fraud; trade, tariff, and customs fraud; violations of federal immigration law; and violations involving sanctions, material support of foreign terrorist organizations, or those that facilitate cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations, including money laundering, narcotics, and Controlled Substances Act violations,' said Galeotti. (Emphasis added.) He noted, 'As with every other area in our program, these tips must result in forfeiture to be eligible for an award.' On February 5, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo informing Justice Department employees that 'immigration enforcement' tops the DOJ's list of prosecution priorities. 'The Department of Justice shall use all available criminal statutes to combat the flood of illegal immigration that took place over the last four years, and to continue to support the Department of Homeland Security's immigration and removal initiatives,' according to the memo. She singled out prosecutions for violating the Alien Registration Act and 'bringing in and harboring aliens,' a provision that authorities have not used extensively against employers. The memo noted that failing to pursue immigration-related cases could have consequences for DOJ attorneys. 'Any declinations of immigration-related offenses shall be disclosed as Urgent Reports . . . On a quarterly basis, each U.S. Attorney's Office shall report statistics to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.' U.S. attorneys have received the message. On April 11, 2025, a press release in Texas was headlined: 'U.S. Attorney's Office Adds 295 New Immigration Cases in One Week.' According to the release, 'Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 295 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 4 through April 10.' The press release states: 'These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration . . .' The priorities of other law enforcement personnel also have changed. 'FBI field offices around the country have been ordered to assign significantly more agents to immigration enforcement, a dramatic shift in federal law enforcement priorities that will likely siphon resources away from counterterrorism, counterintelligence and fraud investigations,' reports NBC News. Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel (L) and U.S. Attorney General Pam ... More Bondi speak during a press conference to announce the results of Operation Restore Justice on May 07, 2025. (Photo by) U.S. employers may not appreciate the potential impact of the Justice Department's new focus. 'Employers do not appear to grasp the depth and breadth of options DOJ and DHS may have to bring enforcement actions,' said Chris Thomas, a partner with Holland & Hart. 'Though these agencies have shown restraint in the types of criminal cases they have brought in the past, employers should not make the mistake of assuming prior enforcement activity will serve as any indication of what may be coming.' Thomas notes that being raided and hit with criminal charges can debilitate business operations and result in long-term reputational damage. Criminal exposure can include prison terms of up to 10 years per count, fines of up to $500,000 per count and forfeiture of assets. The Department of Justice's Criminal Division operated a Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program that compensated individuals who provided 'original and truthful information about corporate misconduct that results in a successful forfeiture.' Until the recent expansion, the whistleblower information needed to relate to '(1) certain crimes involving financial institutions, from traditional banks to cryptocurrency businesses; (2) foreign corruption involving misconduct by companies; (3) domestic corruption involving misconduct by companies; or (4) health care fraud schemes involving private insurance plans.' DOJ can apply the new whistleblower policy against employers of H-1B visa holders and other highly skilled foreign-born professionals. 'It can be and will be used against H-1B employers, along with potentially companies employing L-1, O-1 and TN visa holders,' said Thomas. 'If anybody blew the whistle for an employer knowingly offering false information, charges could be brought. We have even seen DOJ prosecute employers that provide misleading invitation letters for business visitors, such B-1 or ESTA [Electronic System for Travel Authorization], claiming that they are coming for meetings, when they are coming to engage in work.' In recent weeks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued Requests for Evidence for H-1B and employment-based immigrant petitions, claiming to have 'adverse information' on individuals. Those actions appear focused on specific employees rather than companies. For the past four months, the Trump administration has laid the groundwork to pursue new criminal priorities likely to affect employers of immigrants and temporary visa holders. 'As the rhetoric translates into significant raids and criminal charges, employers will be forced to take compliance much more seriously,' said Chris Thomas. 'At that point, however, it may be too late.'
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's AG Is Disbanding Anti-Corruption Teams for Some Reason
On Wednesday evening, one day into her tenure as U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi announced the end of the Kleptocracy Initiative, launched by the Justice Department in 2010 to battle high-level corruption worldwide and return ill-gotten funds to victims of financial crimes. The former Florida attorney general and legal counsel to President Trump during his first impeachment trial, who spent the last several years as a corporate lobbyist, also closed the KleptoCapture task force, created under AG Merrick Garland in 2022 to target Russian oligarchs violating U.S. economic sanctions imposed because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Through the initiative, the DOJ has prosecuted frauds worth billions, recovering embezzled funds and seizing assets like megayachts and luxury condos. Bondi's memo frames the elimination of these programs as a way to 'revise existingnational security and counter-narcotics strategies to pursue total elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs),' in accordance with Trump's designation of these groups as foreign terrorist organizations. (Trump has even floated the idea of deploying U.S. Armed Forces against Mexican drug cartels.) Meanwhile, attorneys assigned to kleptocracy work, according to Bondi's memo, 'shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs.' The dissolution of the anti-corruption initiative comes under the heading 'Removing Bureaucratic Impediments to Aggressive Prosecutions.' Bondi's DOJ is now presumably free to spend a multi-billion dollar forfeiture fund of money seized through these efforts — otherwise repatriated to the nations it was stolen from — however it likes. That could mean anything from expanded contracts with private prisons (Trump has already reversed a Biden administration order that prevented the Justice Department from renewing such contracts) to new mass detention camps for immigrants in Guantánamo Bay and along the border. Like others in Trump's cabinet and Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Bondi has moved quickly to kill Biden-era directives and policies that the MAGA movement demonizes as 'woke.' She rescinded a Garland memo, for instance, on actions to advance environmental justice, citing Trump's complaint that 'climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation.' She also announced that the DOJ's Civil Rights Division 'will investigate, eliminate, and penalize' what she characterized as 'illegal' efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within the department. Another Bondi memo is decidedly retributive in nature, creating a new task force to probe Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations into Trump, federal cooperation leading to the criminal conviction of the president in a Manhattan court for the falsification of business records, and prosecutions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Ed Martin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, previously fired around 30 prosecutors who worked on those cases, and the White House appears to be gearing up to purge FBI agents who investigated Capitol rioters or Trump himself. In the same memo that ended the Kleptocracy Initiative, Bondi said the Justice Department would roll back its enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Foreign Agents Registration Act, laws concerning international white-collar crime. FCPA prosecutions, she revealed, would now focus on cartels and TCOs, in line with the reassignment of anti-kleptocracy prosecutors and resources. That law was established, however, to prevent U.S. citizens and businesses from bribing foreign government officials; restricting its application just to bribery involving cartels and similar groups greatly diminishes its scope. FARA requires Americans to disclose to the DOJ when they are lobbying within the U.S. on behalf of foreign countries or interests, as well as their compensation. Notably, Bondi did exactly this as a lobbyist, representing a U.K. sports betting company, a Kuwati investment firm, and the embassy of Qatar. Now, according to Bondi, prosecutions by the FARA unit 'shall be limited to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.' This, too, radically shrinks the use of an important law. But such decisions are to be expected from Bondi as she twists the DOJ into an agency that reflects her staunch and long-standing loyalty to Trump, whose first term was dogged by sordid allegations about his ties to Russia and susceptibility to foreign influence. We've since learned that he raked in millions from foreign governments while in office, and a department that looked too closely into such transactions this time around would certainly not be to his liking. Instead, it is free to go after his political enemies and bang the drum for what could well be disastrous military intervention in Mexico. That's 'justice' for you in 2025 — and beyond. More from Rolling Stone What We Know So Far About the Young Techies Working for DOGE Trump and Musk Are Pushing an Absurd Lie About Government and the Media Trump Wants L.A. Wildfire Aid to Create a Model for Disaster Blackmail Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Los Angeles Times
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's Justice Department ends task force aimed at seizing Russian oligarchs' assets
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department under President Trump has disbanded a Biden-era program aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs as a means to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The move to disband Task Force KleptoCapture is one of several moves undertaken by the Justice Department under the new leadership of Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi that presage a different approach toward Russia and national security issues. The department also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation. The U.S. government in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election aggressively moved to disrupt propaganda campaigns by Russia, which officials have assessed had a preference for Trump. In a memo addressed to all employees Wednesday — the first day of Bondi's tenure — the attorney general's office stated that 'attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs' — an acronym for Transnational Criminal Organizations. The Trump administration has made combating the illicit flow of fentanyl into the U.S. a priority. The opioid is blamed for some 70,000 overdose deaths annually. The Justice Department this week also shifted its approach to enforcement of a World War II-era law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to disclose to the government when they lobby in the U.S. on behalf of foreign governments — including Russia — or political entities. Under the policy change, prosecutors were directed to focus criminal enforcement on acts of more traditional espionage rather than registration violations. Trump has said he will bring about a rapid end to the war in Ukraine and said talks are ongoing to bring the conflict to a close. 'We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine,' Trump said this week. 'We'll see what happens. We're going to stop that ridiculous war.' Hussein and Tucker write for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Justice Department ends Biden-era task force aimed at seizing assets of Russian oligarchs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's Justice Department has disbanded a Biden-era program aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs as a means to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The move to disband Task Force KleptoCapture is one of several moves undertaken by the Justice Department under the new leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi that presage a different approach toward Russia and national security issues. The department also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation. The U.S. government in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election aggressively moved to disrupt propaganda campaigns by Russia, which officials have assessed had a preference for Trump. In a memo addressed to all employees Wednesday — the first day of Bondi's tenure — the attorney general's office stated that 'attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs' — an acronym for Transnational Criminal Organizations. The Trump administration has made combating the illicit flow of fentanyl into the U.S. a priority. The opioid is blamed for some 70,000 overdose deaths annually. The Justice Department on Wednesday also shifted its approach to enforcement of a World War II-era law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to disclose to the government when they lobby in the U.S. on behalf of foreign governments -- including Russia -- or political entities. Under the policy change, prosecutors were directed to focus criminal enforcement on acts of more traditional espionage rather than registration violations. Despite the disbanding of the task force, Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have called for a more aggressive stance on Russia. During his confirmation hearing, Bessent advocated for stronger sanctions on Russian oil, saying the Biden administration's sanctions regime wasn't 'muscular' enough. 'I believe the previous administration was worried about raising U.S. energy prices during an election season,' he said. Trump has said he will bring about a rapid end to the war in Ukraine and said talks are ongoing to bring the conflict to a close. 'We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine,' Trump said earlier this week. 'We'll see what happens. We're going to stop that ridiculous war.'
Arab News
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Trump's Justice Department ends Biden-era task force aimed at seizing assets of Russian oligarchs
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration's Justice Department has disbanded a Biden-era program aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs as a means to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The move to disband Task Force KleptoCapture is one of several moves undertaken by the Justice Department under the new leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi that presage a different approach toward Russia and national security issues. The department also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation. The US government in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election aggressively moved to disrupt propaganda campaigns by Russia, which officials have assessed had a preference for Trump. In a memo addressed to all employees Wednesday — the first day of Bondi's tenure — the attorney general's office stated that 'attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs' — an acronym for Transnational Criminal Organizations. The Trump administration has made combating the illicit flow of fentanyl into the US a priority. The opioid is blamed for some 70,000 overdose deaths annually. The Justice Department on Wednesday also shifted its approach to enforcement of a World War II-era law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to disclose to the government when they lobby in the US on behalf of foreign governments — including Russia — or political entities. Under the policy change, prosecutors were directed to focus criminal enforcement on acts of more traditional espionage rather than registration violations. Despite the disbanding of the task force, Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have called for a more aggressive stance on Russia. During his confirmation hearing, Bessent advocated for stronger sanctions on Russian oil, saying the Biden administration's sanctions regime wasn't 'muscular' enough. 'I believe the previous administration was worried about raising US energy prices during an election season,' he said. Trump has said he will bring about a rapid end to the war in Ukraine and said talks are ongoing to bring the conflict to a close. 'We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine,' Trump said earlier this week. 'We'll see what happens. We're going to stop that ridiculous war.'
