In a significant move signaling Europe’s growing autonomy in global anti-corruption enforcement, prosecutors from the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland have formed a new cross-border alliance: the International Anti-Corruption Prosecutorial Taskforce. Announced on March 20, 2025 by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the taskforce is designed to deepen cooperation among these three countries on
Fifth Circuit Concurrence Adds Voice to FCA Constitutionality Questions
A first appellate circuit judge has questioned the False Claim Act’s constitutionality. In the Fifth Circuit’s decision last month in United States ex rel Montcrief v. Peripheral Vascular Assocs., P.A., No. 24-50176, — F. 4th –, 2025 WL 939890 (5th Cir. Mar. 28, 2025), Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan separately wrote a concurring opinion to express
FinCEN Narrows Focus on Southwest Border
In the last few weeks, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has circulated several instructions focusing on money services businesses operating in the southwest United States, answering the current Administration’s call for increased security measures in that area.
On March 11, FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) adding more requirements to certain money services
Treasury Department Formally Exempts U.S. Companies from CTA
The guidance U.S. companies have been waiting for after years of ups and downs is finally here. In line with our last update, on March 21, 2025, FinCEN issued an interim final rule exempting U.S. companies and persons from the requirement to report, modify, or correct beneficial ownership information under the Corporate Transparency Act
First Circuit Adopts “But For” AKS Standard, Leaving Third Circuit Alone in Causal-Link Standard
On Feb. 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit adopted the “but for” causality standard for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) that give rise to violations of the federal False Claims Act (FCA). In United States v. Regeneron, the First Circuit held that for a violation of the
Treasury Department Declares Intent to Limit CTA to Foreign Reporting Companies
After the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) stated that it would hold off on taking enforcement actions against Reporting Companies for failure to comply with the March 21, 2025, deadline under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced its own intention to limit CTA enforcement to foreign companies.
CMS Nearly Doubles Prior Stark Self-Disclosure Dollar Record in 2024
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data on its 2024 settlements of voluntary self-disclosures related to past violations or potential violations of the physician self-referral law (the Stark Law). In 2024, CMS settled an agency record 314 self-disclosures (an amount that the following chart shows towering over other years), with settlement
FinCEN’s March 21 CTA Deadline to Report Beneficial Ownership Info Will Not Be Enforced … Yet
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published new guidance on Feb. 27, 2025, putting its plan to begin enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) on hold. After the Feb. 17 order by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith v. United States Department of Treasury made the CTA once again
Fourth Circuit Upholds OIG Advisory Opinion Process
On January 23, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected a challenge to Advisory Opinion 22-19 (the “Advisory Opinion”) issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”). The case, Pharmaceutical Coalition for Patient Access v. United States, centered on whether the
Department of Justice Suggests “Aggressive” Enforcement of False Claims Act
On February 20, 2025, during a speech to the Federal Bar Association’s annual qui tam conference, Michael Granston, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Commercial Litigation Branch at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), said that the Trump Administration will seek to “aggressively” enforce the False Claims Act (FCA). In particular, Granston stated that active