The White House recently revealed in a NASA budget draft its plans to discontinue federal funding for the International Space Station (“ISS”) by 2025. This news comes on the tails of the administration’s plan to transition the ISS from NASA operation to one that accommodates competing commercial customers. While the White House has not yet released a concrete plan for what such an unprecedented transition would entail, the novelty of transforming an international, state-funded space research laboratory into a commercially available entity in low-orbit is sure to have a profound effect on international space law.
ISS Faces Uncertain Future in the Commercial Space Age
Former Rabobank Traders Face First U.S. Libor Trial
On October 14, 2015, Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti, two London-based former Rabobank traders, were the first to stand trial for criminal charges in the U.S. for allegedly manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) to benefit their colleagues’ trading positions.
Libor is the average interest rate at which banks borrow from one another. It serves as a key benchmark for interest rates around the world, and is widely used as a reference rate for many financial contracts including mortgages, student loans, and other consumer lending products. Trillions of dollars in derivatives and other financial instruments are tied to Libor. The benchmark rate is calculated as an average of daily bank submissions to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).
SCOTUS to Decide Whether RICO Reaches Overseas
With a docket already filled with politically charged and highly contentious issues, the U.S. Supreme Court hopes to also address the reach of U.S. law overseas, specifically as it pertains to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Commonly referred to as RICO, the law was designed to combat organized crime by allowing for the criminal prosecution of “patterns of racketeering activity in an enterprise,” which may include money laundering, bribery, embezzlement, drug trafficking, and a number of other questionable activities.
A few days prior to the start of its new term beginning October 2015, the highest court in the land granted a writ of certiorari to hear the case RJR Nabisco, Inc., et al. v. European Community, et al, in order to resolve the question of whether RICO applies extraterritorially and if so, to what extent. The petition, filed by counsel at Jones Day representing R.J. Reynolds, questioned the reversing of the lower court’s dismissal of the case in the Eastern District of New York by the sharply divided 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Court of Appeals, which held that because the scope of RICO encompassed activities that apply to overseas conduct, claims filed based on these activities can proceed in a U.S. federal court.
Antitrust Regulators Take Aim at Google
Technology giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is facing mounting scrutiny from antitrust regulators across several continents.
Last month, Google received a preliminary report from the Competition Commission of India who, after a three-year investigation, voiced concerns about the company’s dominant position in search and online advertising, and its anti-competitive behavior.
More recently, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, the country’s antitrust regulator, found Google guilty of “abusing its dominant market position.” The agency’s probe began in February 2015 after Yandex NV, Russia’s biggest internet firm, accused Google of unfair practices with respect to how the company bundles apps with its Android mobile operating system. While the probe did not find the company guilty of “unfair competition practices,” the agency was expected to issue a full ruling on the case later this month.
Amazon Faces Tax Hurdle in India
Amazon’s expansion plans of $2bn into its e-commerce business in India has faced some major regulatory obstacles with the government in the southern state of Karnataka, where its local operations are headquartered. The company is accused of violating India’s FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) regulations by trying to make a “backdoor entry” into India’s retail business. Karnataka tax authorities have stopped Amazon from selling products from its warehouse by cancelling licenses of third-party merchants storing their products in Amazon’s warehouse near Bangalore.
France Lashes Out Against Dollar in Wake of BNP Paribas Ruling
Last week French global banking giant BNP Paribas (BNP) settled with U.S. authorities in a case which they were convicted of committing large-scale violations of U.S. economic sanctions. BNP’s guilty plea cost them $8.9 billion in fines along with a temporary ban on dollar-clearing transactions.
The ruling has brought to the forefront the issues that arise with the dollar’s monopoly over international transactions. According to U.S. law, banks are subject to U.S. economic sanctions in any processing of U.S. dollar transactions, even if the operations include non-U.S. branches.
Is the DOJ FCPA Enforcement Hegemony Dead?
For nearly 15 years, the United States has had the worldwide corruption enforcement stage to itself, reaping billions of dollars in fines and settlement payments from companies that have acknowledged engaging in bribery in foreign countries. That monopoly, however, may soon end. In a report entitled Left Out of the Bargain, the World Bank recently observed that “the country of enforcement was different from the country where the official was bribed or allegedly bribed” and that the country of enforcement has rarely shared its financial recoveries with the countries where the corruption occurred. Motivated by the potential financial recovery in a time where governments are struggling financially and aware of the financial benefit the U.S. has gained from corruption abroad, we believe that countries that have largely ignored corruption enforcement may become more active. As a result, companies may face additional punishment as multiple sovereigns pursue penalties for the same conduct.
Bolivia: New Investment Law Brings Debate Over Arbitration and Conciliation (Part 3 of 3)
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
Some critics say that the dispositions of the new investment law bring more questions than legal certainty to foreign investors. First, the law mentions that all renegotiated treaties concerning foreign investments shall meet the standards of the Bolivian Constitution and the new investment law. Implicitly, this means that the Bolivian legislature intends to emphasize that the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) will be renegotiated one way or another by the Bolivian state and/or other countries.
Bolivia: New Investment Law Brings Debate Over Arbitration and Conciliation (Part 2 of 3)
IMF EXECUTIVE BOARD CONCLUDES 2013 ARTICLE IV CONSULTATION WITH BOLIVIA
On January 27, 2014, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund concluded the 2013 Article IV consultation with Bolivia.
Bolivia: New Investment Law Brings Debate Over Arbitration and Conciliation (Part 1 of 3)
Over the years, Bolivia has been known as the focal point of political and economic instability, and although it still remains South America’s poorest country, much has changed.