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Caroline E. Brown is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement and International Trade groups and the steering committee of the firm's National Security Practice. She provides strategic advice to clients on national security matters, including anti-money laundering (AML) and economic sanctions compliance and enforcement challenges, investigations, and cross border transactions, including review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector (Team Telecom).

Caroline brings over a decade of experience as a national security attorney at the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Treasury. At the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, she worked on counterespionage, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism matters and investigations, and gained unique insight into issues surrounding data privacy and cybersecurity. In that role, she also sat on both CFIUS and Team Telecom and made recommendations to DOJ senior leadership regarding whether to mitigate, block, or allow transactions under review by those interagency committees. She also negotiated, drafted, and reviewed mitigation agreements, monitored companies’ compliance with those agreements, and coordinated and supervised investigations of breaches of those agreements.

What You Need to Know

  • Key takeaway #1 Issuance of Executive Order and Rulemaking: On August 9, 2023, President Biden issued a long-anticipated “Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern” (the “Executive Order”). The Executive Order, which the President issued pursuant to the

What You Need to Know

  • Key takeaway #2 Failure to initiate an internal investigation promptly after discovering a potential export controls or sanctions
  • On July 25, 2023, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a measure to add mandatory notifications of certain investments in China to the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”).  The Outbound Investment Transparency Act, authored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Bob Casey (D-PA), would require U.S. companies to notify the government of investments in certain Chinese sectors

    Following a meeting of the G7 Summit Leaders, on May 19, 2023, the United States and the United Kingdom announced a new round of sanctions and export controls against the Government of the Russian Federation (“Russia”) to continue their efforts against key sectors of Russia’s military-industrial base.

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    While the Biden’s administration’s recent corporate enforcement actions and initiatives have garnered significant press attention, China has engaged in recent months in a series of less-publicized corporate enforcement actions and initiatives against non-Chinese companies (mostly, but not exclusively, U.S.-based) operating in the country, including through new investigations, raids of China-based offices, and even detention of

    On March 24, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued its first set of guidance documents for its beneficial ownership reporting requirements, which take effect on January 1, 2024.

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    On February 24, 2023, the United States and other G7 nations announced a number of new sanctions and export control measures coinciding with the one-year mark of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Shortly after these expansive sanctions and export controls were announced, the Departments of Justice (“DOJ”), the Treasury (“Treasury”), and Commerce (“Commerce”) issued their

    Last week the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. Department of Commerce announced a new Disruptive Technology Strike Force (the “DIS-TECH Strike Force”). The Strike Force will bring together experts throughout government – including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and 14 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in 12 metropolitan regions across

    On October 20, 2022, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) adopted long-awaited CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) identifying how it will review and consider three categories of non-compliances that may be subject to penalties:

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    EU Updates FAQS to Address Energy Security: On October 7, 2022, the EU updated two FAQs clarifying the impact of Council Regulation 833/2014 on the import, purchase and transfer of listed goods.  The EU clarified that Council Regulation 833/2014 prohibits the transfer of any listed goods if they originate in Russia or are exported from