USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel J. Fetterman and Brian S. Choi, Kasowitz LLP
and wilful joinder in that conspiracy; and (3) commis - sion of an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy by at least one of the alleged co-conspirators. Section 371 has a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. Additionally, several financial crimes, such as money laundering, securities fraud, and mail and wire fraud are subject to separate conspiracy statutes which apply to conduct specific to those crimes and pro - vide for substantially longer prison sentences than provided for under Section 371. 1.4 Limitation Periods Federal financial crimes, such as those that violate the wire and mail fraud statutes, the securities laws and similar financial crimes, generally have a five-year statute of limitations period. However, certain financial crime statutes have longer statutes of limitations. For example, offences involving securities fraud have a limitations period of six years and financial crimes that affect a financial institution have a ten-year statute of limitations. 1.5 Extraterritorial Reach and Cross-Border Co-Operation Certain financial crimes apply extraterritorially where Congress has expressed the intent that the criminal statute should apply extraterritorially. These financial crimes include money laundering, certain portions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and certain sanc - tions laws. US law enforcement authorities often face challenges obtaining relevant evidence and identifying relevant witnesses in connection with extraterritorial criminal conduct. However, there are a number of tools to assist them in obtaining such evidence. These include, but are not limited to, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) with many countries that provide a formal, binding, and reciprocal mechanism to request testi - mony, documents, or bank records located in foreign countries. Authorities may also use letters rogatory, which are applications to a foreign court seeking judi - cial assistance. US law enforcement agencies often have agreements with their foreign counterparts to share information
and intelligence. For example, the SEC uses multi - lateral and bilateral information sharing agreements – often called “memoranda of understanding” or MOUs – to facilitate consultation and co-operation with its foreign counterparts. These MOUs establish clear guidelines and protocols for exchanging information. Under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act enacted in 2018, US authorities also can compel US-based service providers to produce electronic data (emails and texts) pursuant to a war - rant, even if such data is stored outside of the United States. 1.6 Extradition and Prohibited Destinations In the United States, there must be a valid treaty providing for extradition of a suspect to a requesting country. US treaties generally require a dual criminality element, which means that the criminal conduct for which the requesting country is seeking extradition must also constitute a criminal offence in the United States. While the United States is a party to numer - ous extradition treaties with its allies, there are several other countries with whom it has no such treaties. Those countries include China, Russia, and Venezue - la. However, depending on the circumstances, with certain non-treaty countries with whom the United States has friendly relations, it may agree to deport suspects based on special agreements or diplomatic negotiations. Vietnam, for example, is a non-treaty country with which the United States has made spe - cial agreements. 2. Enforcement Architecture 2.1 Investigative and Enforcement Authorities The Department of Justice (DOJ) is the principal fed - eral law enforcement agency charged with investi - gating and prosecuting financial crimes. Within DOJ, the Criminal Division in Washington, D.C. or the 93 US Attorney’s Offices across the United States are authorised to prosecute federal crimes, including financial crime offences. With regard to financial crimes, DOJ works with numerous other law enforcement agencies, including without limitation, the Federal Bureau of Investiga -
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