USA – NEW YORK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jilan J. Kamal, Michelle Ben-David and Laszlo Herwitz, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer 1177 Avenue of the Americas
New York NY 10036 United States of America
Tel: +1 212 715 9100 Fax: +1 212 715 8000 Email: Jilan.Kamal@hsfkramer.com Web: www.hsfkramer.com
Introduction New York, home to Wall Street, is the seat of white- collar enforcement in the United States and a cor - nerstone of global financial markets. Of the federal and state regulatory agencies with jurisdiction in New York, the four most commonly associated with white- collar enforcement are the US Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, (the SDN” and EDNY respectively), the New York State Attorney General’s Office, (NYAG), and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The SDNY and EDNY are components of the US Department of Justice (DOJ). They pursue cases under federal law ‒ the SDNY in Manhattan, Westch - ester and adjacent counties, and the EDNY in Brook - lyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island. Given the interconnectedness of banking and commerce world - wide, both offices have historically pursued conduct that reaches across the globe. Under the new Trump administration, the DOJ’s priorities have shifted to an “America First” approach. While the SDNY and EDNY’s expansive prosecutorial reach is unaffected, new enforcement priorities announced by the DOJ indicate that these offices are likely to focus on foreign corruption and transnational crime that disadvantage US businesses specifically, a shift we have started to see in 2025. Meanwhile, 2025 has also seen state authorities ‒ namely, the NYAG, the Manhattan DA, and the NY Department of Financial Services, (DFS) ‒ expand their enforcement agendas to include conduct that federal authorities would typically pursue. In particular, the NYAG and Manhattan DA appear eager to fill gaps
in cryptocurrency and public corruption left by the Trump administration’s shift away from these areas. Taken together, the year ahead is likely to see white- collar enforcement at the federal level that seeks to protect US “economic interests,” while New York state regulators seek to vindicate individual protections and good governance. An “America First” Approach Foreign corruption and transnational crime Immediately after President Trump’s inauguration on 20 January 2025, President Trump signed an Execu - tive Order titled, “Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs).” Shortly thereafter, the new administration announced a pause on enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, (FCPA), as part of a review to ensure that the DOJ was seeking to “further American economic and national security.” In May and June 2025, the Trump administration announced its white-collar enforcement priorities (the “Galeotti Memorandum”) and new guidelines for FCPA enforcement (the “Blanche Memorandum”). These memoranda emphasised the Trump’s admin - istration’s view that “economic security is national security” and directed that foreign bribery and white- collar prosecutions generally should target economic injury to specific and identifiable US entities or inter - ests or safeguard the “competitiveness” of US busi - nesses. These national directives have reverberated throughout New York’s federal component offices. In March 2025, the DOJ ended two federal monitor - ships, including one that originated in the SDNY, of mining giant Glencore, which had entered a guilty plea
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