In this Government Contracts Litigation Update, Gibson Dunn examines trends and summarizes key decisions of interest to government contractors during the second half of 2015. This publication covers the waterfront of the most important opinions issued by the U.S.
January 19, 2016
On January 16, 2016, the comprehensive international sanctions restricting dealings with Iran and Iranian entities were substantially eased. Financial institutions and businesses hoping to access the Iranian market have new, immediate and substantial opportunities to do so; but this potential comes with continued complexities, ambiguities, and risks, particularly for U.S.
January 18, 2016
From at least a numerical standpoint, 2015 was a particularly productive year for the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement. For the government fiscal year ended September 30, the SEC filed 807 enforcement actions, a 7% rise over fiscal 2014.
January 11, 2016
By the end of 2015, Germany has provided shelter to more than one million refugees that entered the country in the past twelve months, many without any documents of identification or even totally unregistered in some cases.
January 8, 2016
A comprehensive summary of criminal antitrust and competition-related enforcement activity across the world during 2015.
January 7, 2016
A bit less, but no less impressive--that is how we would characterize False Claims Act enforcement in 2015. This past year, the federal government recovered approximately $3.6 billion in either settlements or judgments in cases brought under the False Claims Act ("FCA" or the "Act").
January 6, 2016
2015 was a blockbuster year in corporate non-prosecution agreements ("NPA") and deferred prosecution agreements ("DPA"), by sheer numbers alone. Skyrocketing to 100, in 2015 the number of agreements more than doubled the numbers in every prior year since 2000, when Gibson Dunn first began tracking NPA and DPA data.
January 5, 2016
The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has promulgated the External Commercial Borrowings ("ECB") Policy-Revised Framework ("Revised Framework"). The Revised Framework comprehensively amends and restates the previous legal regime relating to ECBs. The Revised Framework lays down a more liberal approach for ECBs, whether they are long-term foreign currency denominated ECBs or Indian Rupee ("INR") denominated ECBs.
January 4, 2016
As we kick off our second decade of updates on the state of play in international anti-corruption enforcement, the stakes for multinational companies have never been higher.
January 4, 2016
On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (the "Act"), an omnibus spending bill that includes a number of changes to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") governing the taxation of U.S.
December 29, 2015
As we near the end of the calendar year, we take this opportunity to share with you our reflections on some of the key developments which have been in sharp focus of a number of our European financial sponsor clients in the second half of this year.1.Anti-Trust & Competition Law – Risks for SponsorsWhat's New?2014 saw a number of high profile landmark cartel cases involving private equity firms. The European Commission imposed a €302m fine for cartel activities undertaken by a group of high voltage cable power producers of which Goldman Sachs, through a prior portfolio entity, was involved. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets imposed its first financial penalty against a financial sponsor, when it fined two private equity firms for conduct relating to their &q
December 10, 2015
Following the recent historic election in Myanmar in which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy won a landslide victory, the political landscape in the country continues to evolve at a fast pace.
December 10, 2015
On November 24, 2015, the Government of India ("Government") effected several important amendments to India's consolidated foreign direct investment policy ("FDI Policy").
December 8, 2015
(Updated January 5, 2016)On December 1, 2015, New York Governor Andrew M.
December 7, 2015
UK SFO enters into its first DPA and unveils its first enforcement of the corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery In a judgment of November 30, 2015 in Serious Fraud Office v Standard Bank Plc: Deferred Prosecution Agreement (Case No: U20150854), the Crown Court has approved the United Kingdom's first deferred prosecution agreement (the "Standard Bank DPA") under the regime for DPAs brought into effect in the UK by section 45 and Schedule 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
December 3, 2015
On September 8, 2014, we issued a client alert that the Luxembourg and French Ministry of Finance had signed a fourth amendment to the tax treaty between France and Luxembourg, with the potential to impose a significant tax burden on existing and future French real estate investments. Although the effective date for the amendment was previously unclear, it is now apparent that this amendment will come into effect no earlier than January 1, 2017.Under the current treaty, gains on the sale by a Luxembourg company of shares in a French or Luxembourg company holding French real estate are not taxable in France, even if those gains may also be exempt from Luxembourg tax under Luxembourg domestic law.The fourth amendment will reverse this favorable treatment.
November 23, 2015
On November 19, 2015, in Depomed, Inc. v. Horizon Pharma plc, the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara granted Depomed's request for a preliminary injunction to enjoin Horizon's hostile exchange offer to acquire Depomed.
November 20, 2015
At an October 30, 2015 open meeting, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) approved a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) that would impose Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) and long-term debt (LTD) requirements for globally significant banks (G-SIBs). In so doing, it anticipated by ten days the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which finalized its template for TLAC on November 9. Although the Proposed Rule is consistent with important aspects of the FSB's TLAC requirements, its LTD requirement is more onerous. In addition, the Proposed Rule would impose new "clean holding company" requirements on institutions subject to the rule, which would limit those companies' business activities in a wholly new manner.From the Proposed Rule, tw
November 18, 2015
Myanmar went to the polls on November 8, 2015 (the "2015 Elections") to elect members of the upper and lower houses of the national legislature and 14 state and regional legislatures. The 2015 Elections witnessed participation by the National League for Democracy (the "NLD") (headed by Aung San Suu Kyi), which had boycotted the 2010 general elections. Based on the preliminary results released through November 15, 2015, the NLD has secured an overwhelming majority of the seats of the national legislature (referred to as the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw). The members of the newly elected national legislature will elect the next President of Myanmar to lead the new Myanmar Government from April 1, 2016. Given the majority secured by the NLD, the next Pre
November 17, 2015
On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (the "Act"), which sweeps aside the rules that have governed the tax audits of partnerships since 1982. Although the new rules generally will not be effective until 2018, because the changes to partnership audits and attendant tax liability are so dramatic, and because partnerships generally may elect to apply the rules before 2018, it is important to ensure that both existing and future partnership agreements protect the interests of the partners and address the various alternatives available under the new rules. In addition, disclosure documents and regulatory filings (including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission) will need to be modified to reflect the new law. F
November 12, 2015