Amanda L. Houle is a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Criminal Defense and Investigation Group and National Security Practice. Amanda represents companies and individuals in multiple areas of white collar defense and internal investigations, including anti-money laundering, fraud, insider trading, and economic sanctions. Amanda recently returned to Sullivan & Cromwell after eight years as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, where she worked in coordination with enforcement and regulatory authorities on sensitive and high-profile matters, including in the National Security context. Amanda uses her government experience to advise clients facing complex criminal and regulatory investigations.
Amanda re-joined the Firm in 2023 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she served as Co-Chief of the National Security & International Narcotics Unit, and before that as Chief of the Narcotics Unit. Amanda supervised dozens of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and hundreds of criminal investigations in the areas of sanctions violations, export control offenses, international money laundering, cybercrime, fraud, foreign corruption, espionage, counterintelligence offenses, terrorism, terrorism financing, and other national security offenses. Amanda handled sensitive investigations, including extensive classified matters.
Amanda’s experience overseeing significant sanctions cases at SDNY includes cases involving charges against a foreign bank for transferring $20 billion in restricted Iranian funds, charges against an Iranian intelligence official, charges against a high-ranking Russian legislator for sanctions violations, and cases involving crypto-related sanctions and money laundering violations.
Amanda also led and supervised teams in some of the country’s most significant prosecutions of foreign officials, including bringing criminal charges against the former president of Honduras, as well as charges against the former Vice President of Venezuela and the former Venezuelan Superintendent of Cryptocurrencies for sanctions violations and money laundering offenses.
During her tenure at SDNY, Amanda conducted seven jury trials and supervised an additional eight jury trials. Amanda’s high-profile trials include leading a five-month capital trial of the ISIS “Tribeca Truck Attacker” who committed a deadly terrorist attack in New York City in 2017; a trial of a prominent Honduran congressman for international narcotics and weapons offenses; and a trial of a terrorist operating for Hizballah and Iran in the United States for terrorism and sanctions offenses. Amanda additionally briefed more than a dozen appeals, and argued before the Second Circuit four times.
Amanda also frequently coordinated with a wide range of government agencies including the Offices of the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce.
Amanda’s government service has been recognized by various organizations, including in 2023 when Amanda received the Top Prosecutor Award from the Women in Federal Law Enforcement Foundation.
From 2010 to 2015, Amanda was an associate in Sullivan & Cromwell’s Criminal Defense and Investigation Group.
