The DOJ's Expanded Subpoena Powers Are Not Without Limits (New York Law Journal)

Congress enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA) in January of this year, and while much has been written about how it constitutes the most significant change to the U.S. anti-money laundering regime since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act almost 20 years ago, one provision was added with little fanfare. Section 6308 could have a significant impact on foreign financial institutions doing business in the United States because of powers granted to Departments of Treasury and Justice to seek and obtain banking records located abroad, while limiting the ability of foreign financial institutions to oppose production of these documents based on prohibitions under local banking laws and regulations. Jones Day's Lanier Saperstein and Samuel Hickey posit that §6308 does not—and should not—upend traditional processes designed to respect the sovereignty of foreign nations.

Reprinted with permission from the August 3, 2021 issue of the New York Law Journal. © 2021 ALM Media Properties, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited. All rights reserved.