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    Home /  Practices /  Litigation /  Criminal Defense & Investigations

    Criminal Defense & Investigations

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    Sullivan & Cromwell’s Criminal Defense & Investigations Group (CDIG) is adept at resolving issues on the cutting edge of enforcement and regulatory activity. With more than a dozen former federal and state prosecutors, as well as other skilled lawyers, our team understands how government authorities pursue cases and anticipates shifts in enforcement priorities. We have played a leading role in virtually every major U.S. law enforcement initiative of the past 20 years, and our lawyers have handled more than 125 criminal trials in federal and state courts.

    Our CDIG lawyers routinely appear before all major enforcement agencies and have extensive experience handling multiagency investigations and cross-border enforcement actions involving white collar, criminal defense and regulatory issues.

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    Spotlight

    “Our experienced white-collar team has handled more significant investigations across two decades than any other firm.”
    Nic Bourtin - Managing Partner of Criminal Defense & Investigations Group

    S&C Shortlisted for ‘Most Impressive Investigations Practice of the Year’ by GIR Awards

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    Sharon Cohen Levin, Anthony Lewis, Kamil Shields and Tracy Nelson Wirth Co-Author Chapter in Global Investigation Review’s The Guide to Anti-Money Laundering

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    New York Law Journal Names S&C ‘Litigation Department of the Year’ for Finance

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    Nicolas Bourtin, Alexander J. Willscher, and Sabrina Solow Author Bloomberg Law Article on the Constitutionality of Criminal Enforcement of Section 1 of the Sherman Act

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    • Experience
    • Rankings and Recognitions
    • News
    • Publications, Videos and Podcasts
    • Practice Contacts
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    Experience

    Experience

    The CDIG team handles all aspects of white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement and internal investigations, including:

    • Federal and state securities law violations, including insider trading and corporate disclosure issues;
    • Market manipulation, spoofing and trading practices, including benchmark interest rate manipulation;
    • Violations of economic sanctions regimes, including Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering;
    • The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Anti-Corruption; and
    • Cybersecurity breaches.

    Sullivan & Cromwell’s experience in white-collar criminal defense spans a wide range of subject matters, including the following recent representative matters.

    • Economic Sanctions & Money Laundering
      • Standard Chartered Bank in 2012 and 2019 deferred prosecution agreements with the DOJ and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and regulatory settlements with the New York State Department of Financial Services, the Federal Reserve and OFAC, all related to OFAC sanctions and anti-money laundering compliance.
      • ABN AMRO Bank, Barclays, ING Group, Lloyds TSB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Group, and BNP Paribas in the resolution of multiagency criminal and regulatory investigations relating to their compliance with economic sanctions and/or anti-money-laundering regulations.
      • J.P. Morgan Chase in its resolution with criminal and bank regulatory authorities relating to dealings with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, and TD Bank in its resolution of civil and regulatory investigations involving its relationship with Scott Rothstein.
    • FCPA & Anti-Corruption
      • Goldman Sachs as lead counsel in reaching coordinated resolutions in multiple criminal and regulatory investigations in jurisdictions around the world relating to an alleged multi-billion dollar money laundering and corruption scheme involving the Malaysia sovereign development company, 1MDB, and senior public officials in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, including a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and resolutions with the government of Malaysia, the SEC, Federal Reserve, New York DFS, and regulators in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore.
      • Tenaris in resolving multi-year investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which concluded in June 2022 when the DOJ closed its investigation without taking any action and the SEC resolved the matter with the company without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
      • Eni in two high-profile DOJ investigations related to its oil and gas businesses in Africa, both of which the DOJ closed without taking any enforcement action, and in resolving related SEC investigations.
      • Bank Hapoalim in an investigation by the United States Department of Justice and others concerning alleged corruption in connection with international soccer confederations and competitions.
      • Kinross Gold in its favorable settlement with the SEC stemming from an FCPA investigation arising from the company’s activities in West Africa, as well as in a parallel investigation by the DOJ, which closed its investigation and declined to pursue charges.
      • An African e-commerce company in connection with an internal investigation and advising on its compliance program and internal controls.
    • Consumer Protection
      • Wells Fargo as lead counsel in resolving multiple criminal and regulatory investigations, including by the DOJ, the SEC and a multi-state working group of attorneys general, as well as in civil litigation, related to Wells Fargo’s “fake account” sales practices scandal.
      • A worldwide payment processing company in an agreed resolution with the Federal Trade Commission related to allegations regarding insufficient controls and transaction monitoring of a wholesale independent sales organization (ISO), and its downstream merchants and affiliates.
    • Accounting & Tax
      • Bank Hapoalim in a cross-border tax investigation by the Department of Justice, Federal Reserve, and New York Department of Financial Services.
      • A major global automotive manufacturer in criminal and regulatory investigations concerning accounting and corruption allegations.
    • Market Manipulation, Spoofing & Trading Practices
      • JPMorgan in achieving resolutions with the DOJ, the CFTC and the SEC, resolving multi-year investigations into alleged “spoofing” by JPMorgan traders in the precious metals and U.S. treasuries markets, and manipulation of precious metals barrier options.
      • Scotiabank in obtaining global coordinated resolutions with the DOJ and CFTC resolving investigations of spoofing with respect to precious metals futures contracts as well as alleged failures to provide pre-trade mid-market marks to swap counterparties and other swap dealer compliance issues.
      • Tower Research Capital in obtaining a $67 million resolution with the DOJ and CFTC to resolve allegations of spoofing in futures markets by certain former traders.
      • Barclays in persuading the DOJ not to bring criminal charges against the bank relating to allegations that bank employees used confidential merger information to front-run trades and enable the bank to profit at a client’s expense. In a major policy shift, this matter marked the first time that DOJ had been willing to extend its declination program for companies outside of the FCPA context.
      • A major financial institution in an SEC investigation of the firm’s trading practices and Volcker Rule compliance.
      • Barclays in global investigations relating to Libor and Euribor, including securing from the DOJ the only non-prosecution agreement for any institution that has resolved benchmark interest-rate matters.
      • Barclays in the investigation and resolution with the CFTC of matters relating to the ISDAFIX benchmark rate.
    • Insider Trading
        • The Goldman Sachs Group, its board of directors and many of its executive officers and employees in matters relating to the civil and criminal prosecution of a former director.
        • Numerous senior executives of issuers, hedge funds, and trading firms in investigations by the DOJ and SEC relating to insider trading.
    • Criminal Antitrust
      • One of the largest ocean container shipping companies in a DOJ criminal cartel investigation, with DOJ concluding its investigation without bringing any charges or taking any other action.
      • British Airways, in global criminal antitrust investigations of price-fixing of fuel surcharges with respect to cargo and passenger air services.
    • Individual Representations
      • Senior executives and other high-ranking employees in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations involving allegations of, among other things, insider trading, securities fraud, antitrust, tax fraud, bribery, and automobile safety recalls.
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    Rankings and Recognitions

    Rankings and Recognitions

    • Law360 “Practice Group of the Year”: White Collar

      March 9, 2023
    • S&C Shortlisted for ‘Most Impressive Investigations Practice of the Year’ by GIR Awards

      September 29, 2023
    • New York Law Journal Names S&C ‘Litigation Department of the Year’ for Finance

      August 10, 2023
    • Benchmark Litigation Names Seven S&C Partners to its 2023 ‘40 & Under List’

      August 4, 2023
    • Benchmark Litigation Names Sharon Nelles, Karen Seymour and Renata Hesse to its 2023 ‘Top 250 Women in Litigation’

      August 4, 2023
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    News

    News

    • Nicole Friedlander and Sharon Cohen Levin Comment on Demand for Cryptocurrency Expertise in The American Lawyer

      August 30, 2022
    • Nic Bourtin and Alex Willscher Join Cambridge Forums Conference on Financial Institutions Enforcement

      May 9, 2023
    • Aisling O’Shea Discusses Corporate Self-Disclosure Decisions with Bloomberg Law

      March 31, 2023
    • Sharon Nelles, Karen Seymour, Steve Peikin, Sarah Payne and Colin Lloyd to Speak at SIFMA’s C&L Seminar

      March 12, 2023
    • Nic Bourtin and Aisling O’Shea Comment on DOJ’s New Cooperation Policies for Criminal Cases in Agenda

      February 2, 2023
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    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    Publications, Videos and Podcasts

    • Sharon Cohen Levin, Anthony Lewis, Kamil Shields and Tracy Nelson Wirth Co-Author Chapter in Global Investigation Review’s The Guide to Anti-Money Laundering

      Articles |  September 18, 2023
    • Nic Bourtin and Bailey Springer Shape Latest Edition of The International Investigations Review

      Articles |  August 24, 2023
    • DOJ, BIS and OFAC Release Guidance on Voluntary Self-Disclosures

      S&C Memos |  July 31, 2023
    • SEC Adopts New Cybersecurity Disclosure Rules for Public Companies

      S&C Memos |  July 28, 2023
    • Brendan Cullen and Anthony Lewis Collaborate with Latin Lawyer on The Guide to Corporate Compliance, Fourth Edition

      Books |  July 25, 2023
    • Nicolas Bourtin, Alexander J. Willscher, and Sabrina Solow Author Bloomberg Law Article on the Constitutionality of Criminal Enforcement of Section 1 of the Sherman Act

      Articles |  July 17, 2023
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    Practice Contacts

    Practice Contacts

    Nicolas Bourtin Headshot Photo
    Nicolas Bourtin
    New York
    +1-212-558-3920
    Email
    vCard
    Nicole Friedlander Headshot Photo
    Nicole Friedlander
    New York
    +1-212-558-4332
    Email
    vCard
    Sharon Cohen Levin Headshot Photo
    Sharon Cohen Levin
    New York
    +1-212-558-4000
    Email
    vCard
    Anthony J. Lewis Headshot Photo
    Anthony J. Lewis
    Los Angeles
    +1-310-712-6615
    Email
    vCard
    James M. McDonald Headshot Photo
    James M. McDonald
    New York
    +1-212-558-3030
    Washington, D.C.
    +1-202-956-7050
    Email
    vCard
    Aisling O
    Aisling O'Shea
    Washington, D.C.
    +1-202-956-7500
    Email
    vCard
    Steven R. Peikin Headshot Photo
    Steven R. Peikin
    New York
    +1-212-558-4636
    Email
    vCard
    Karen Patton Seymour Headshot Photo
    Karen Patton Seymour
    New York
    +1-212-558-4144
    Email
    vCard
    Kamil R. Shields Headshot Photo
    Kamil R. Shields
    Washington, D.C.
    +1-202-956-7040
    Email
    vCard
    Alexander J. Willscher Headshot Photo
    Alexander J. Willscher
    New York
    +1-212-558-4104
    Email
    vCard
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    Related Practices

    Related Practices

    • Antitrust
    • Bankruptcy Litigation
    • Congressional Investigations
    • Corporate Culture, Workplace Investigations & Whistleblower Litigation
    • Corporate Governance Litigation
    • Environmental Litigation
    • European Competition
    • FCPA & Anti-Corruption
    • Financial Services Investigations & Litigation
    • Intellectual Property & Technology Litigation
    • International Arbitration and Global Dispute Resolution
    • Labor & Employment
    • Litigation
    • Products Liability & Mass Torts
    • Securities & Commodities Investigations Practice
    • Securities Litigation
    • Supreme Court and Appellate
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