Winter 2023

Major real estate investment structures in Japan | Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Introduction A weak Yen and other factors continue to attract overseas investors to the Japanese real estate market. While this investment can take many forms, two of the most common financing structures are GK-TK and TMK (as defined in the graphics). J-REITs are often used for large-scale portfolios, but because of this structure’s longer timeline …

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Overview of the exemptions from the new Swiss ESG due diligence and reporting obligations | Bär & Karrer

In last year’s winter edition, we highlighted certain aspects of the new ESG rules in Switzerland, which have entered into force in January 2022. The first ESG reports according to the new Swiss rules must be published in 2024, covering the financial year 2023. This also means that the risk assessments and due diligence processes …

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The role of in-house counsel in ESG: a Kenyan perspective | Robson Harris

In the recent past, the role of in-house counsel has evolved from the traditional and, you would be forgiven to say, reactive one where the legal person or team sprung into action only when needed. That is to say, when there was a dispute or other legal ‘problem’ for the organisation to solve.

White-collar enforcement in Italy | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

During the pandemic, white-collar experts have not been as busy as they used to before. Has this also been the case in Italy? G. Scassellati-Sforzolini: During the pandemic, enforcement authorities have mainly focused on combating fraud related to the health emergency and that did not come as a surprise. The restrictions implemented in Italy also …

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Corporate governance in Saudi Arabia: an overview of the two most common types of corporate entities | Abdulaziz Alajlan & Partners - Legal Advisors

Corporate governance has become an issue of increasing interest and importance in Saudi Arabia, as evidenced by the recent proliferation of corporate governance rules and the increasingly active involvement of regulators to ensure that the applicable rules are being applied. This article presents a general overview of corporate governance of the two most common types …

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US DOJ’s renewed focus on individual prosecutions presses limits | Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

In the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is chiefly responsible for prosecuting white-collar crime. While white-collar enforcement significantly declined during the past presidential administration, current DOJ leadership has pledged to take a more aggressive approach. To that end, in September 2022, Deputy US Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced changes to DOJ’s corporate enforcement …

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‘Game-changers’– why in-house counsel must take ownership of ESG

‘You are all climate lawyers now.’ So declared John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, at the General Assembly of the 2021 American Bar Association hybrid annual meeting in Chicago. Fast forward to 2023, and the veracity of this statement far exceeds even Kerry’s predictions.

White-collar crime developments and trends in the UAE | Herbert Smith Freehills

As a federation of seven emirates, each with different leadership, economic circumstances and priorities as well as different (at least in part) legal and regulatory systems, the UAE presents significant complexity for government authorities and regulators when combatting money laundering (‘AML’) and other financial crime. In March 2022, the UAE was added by the Financial …

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Prevention of corporate crimes as a compliance standard for Mexican companies | Baker & McKenzie Abogados

Since the inception of corporate criminal liability in Mexico in 2016, federal and state prosecutors have been increasingly active in pursuing both national and foreign-owned businesses for crimes as varied as money laundering, tax evasion and bribery. The legislation that was initially vague and challenging to interpret has, in the hands of regulators and by …

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Overview and recent developments in Indonesia’s real estate laws – 2023 | Makes & Partners Law Firm

Introduction Understanding the fundamental legal principles and keeping up with continuous reforms are the primary challenges faced by every legal practitioner in the real estate business. Given the importance of a legal framework, this overview provides recent updates on the real estate business in Indonesia.

The opportunity for strategic corporate measures through compliance programmes in Colombia | Baker & McKenzie

In its economic report about Colombia, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recognised efforts made by recent governments in the fight against corruption1. However, the perception on corruption being on the rise is still high: about 62% of Colombians believe that corruption levels have increased2.

Sale of agricultural land in Slovenia | Law Firm Andrić o.p. - d.o.o.

In this article, the author shall present a specific issue in the legal regulation of real estate in the Republic of Slovenia, namely the sale of agricultural land, which is regulated by a mandatory legal regime. This regime is set forth in the provisions of the Agricultural Land Act (hereafter referred to as ‘ZKZ’) which …

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