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Professionals 66 results
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Practice Area
International trade is essential for the growth and development of global economies and businesses. As international trade has expanded and developed, so too have the myriad rules and regulations that govern it. The global compliance environment is becoming more complex by the day and can be difficult to navigate without the assistance of experienced counsel. Failure to comply with international trade rules and regulations—even if done so unwittingly—can lead to civil and criminal penalties, monitorships, consent agreements, debarment, reputational damage, substantial administrative burden, legal expense, and unsatisfied business objectives. Increasingly, there also is exposure for individual officers/directors, which can include monetary penalties and, potentially, jail time.
Practice Area
Government Investigations, Enforcement & Compliance
Recognized for “Corporate Crime & Investigations: Highly Regarded – Nationwide” by Chambers USA in 2024, Winston’s Government Investigations, Enforcement, and Compliance Practice assists individuals, companies, and organizations with government investigations and enforcement matters; related criminal and civil litigation; trials; appeals; congressional oversight; internal investigations; and compliance counseling and program development and enhancement. We are comprised of 80+ litigators, with more than a dozen former prosecutors from the SEC, Main Justice, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, including two former U.S. Attorneys, Regional Supervisors, and the former Chief of IRS Criminal Investigations, and a former Acting Assistant Attorney General, ENRD, DOJ. We are known for our zealous advocacy, our unyielding commitment to our clients, and for protecting and defending clients’ interests with legal acumen that’s second to none.
Industry
Winston’s financial crimes compliance lawyers have been providing regulatory compliance counseling and enforcement services related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML), and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) policy for decades. We also have experience with international AML matters, including in the EU and with respect to Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) recommendations.
Experience 4 results
Experience
|March 8, 2023
GIO World Health Business Combination with Apeiron Capital Investment Corp.
Winston & Strawn is representing GIO World Health, a recently formed company focused on stem cell research and development, in its announced business combination with Apeiron Capital Investment Corp. (OTC: APNC), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing, GIO World Health will become public in order to bring its proprietary stem cell treatments to market and other stem cell-based products for global consumption. The parties intend that at the closing of the proposed transaction, Apeiron Capital common stock will be listed on either the NYSE or NASDAQ, and Apeiron Capital will be renamed "GIO World Health Holdings, Inc." Under the business combination agreement (BCA), Apeiron Capital will acquire shares of GIO World Health from its existing shareholders in exchange for newly issued common shares of Apeiron Capital. GIO shareholders holding approximately 98.7% of its outstanding shares have signed on to sell their shares to Apeiron Capital under the BCA, and the parties intend to have the remaining GIO shareholders participate in the transaction prior to the closing. Under the terms of the BCA, GIO World Health is valued at a pre-money enterprise value of US$250M.
Experience
|November 17, 2022
Digital Virgo Business Combination with Goal Acquisitions Corp.
Winston & Strawn LLP is representing Digital Virgo Group— a French corporation with a leading global platform for payment and monetization of digital content and services for entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and ultimately, transportation, education, and everyday needs—in its business combination with Goal Acquisitions Corp. (Nasdaq: PUCK), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon closing, Goal will be renamed "Digital Virgo Group, Inc.," and its common stock is expected to be publicly listed in the United States. The proposed business combination is expected to provide at least US$100M in cash to Digital Virgo, allowing the company to enhance growth and expand into North America and other priority markets. Based on a US$10 per share price, the transaction values Digital Virgo at an enterprise value of approximately US$513M. The transaction was unanimously approved by the Digital Virgo Strategic Committee and the Goal Board of Directors. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including Goal shareholder approval, approval for listing on NASDAQ, European electronic money institution approvals, a minimum of US$20M in cash being available at closing, and the execution of definitive agreements for a US$100M committed capital on demand facility. Digital Virgo has been consistently profitable for the last seven years. The company has a proven track record of success in all economic environments, with revenue and adjusted EBITDA expected to grow from 2021–2022E 12% and 15%, respectively. Building on its more than 2B connected users and 9B yearly transactions managed worldwide, Digital Virgo today operates in 40+ countries with offices in 28 countries. Digital Virgo will pursue its significant expansion opportunity in the United States among customers who prefer the one-platform approach as well as the simplicity of Digital Virgo’s direct carrier billing (DCB), in addition to unbanked or underbanked customers who are too often left behind.
Insights & News 452 results
Article
|November 21, 2024
|10+ Min Read
How To Safely Leverage AI In The Digital Assets Industry
This article was originally published in Law360. Reprinted with permission. Any opinions in this article are not those of Winston & Strawn or its clients. The opinions in this article are the authors’ opinions only.
Client Alert
|November 14, 2024
|7 Min Read
SEC Division of Examinations 2025 Priorities
On October 21, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the SEC) Division of Examinations (the Division) announced its annual list of examination priorities for 2025 (the Priorities), which are developed in consultation with various internal SEC divisions and offices. The priorities reflect practices, products, and services that the Division believes present heightened risks to investors or the integrity of the U.S. capital markets. The Priorities are not an exhaustive list of issues the Division intends to target in examinations. The Division’s examinations are also likely to address emerging risks, products, market events, and other investor concerns as they arise. In this alert, you will find a summary of the priorities for the SEC in examining registered investment advisers, registered investment companies, broker-dealers, and other market participants in 2025.
Pro Bono In Action
|October 30, 2024
|1 Min Read
Winston Helps Secure Release of Binance Executive Imprisoned on Bogus Charges in Nigeria
A Winston team, led by New York partner Rich Weber, played an important role in convincing the Nigerian government to drop its baseless money laundering and tax evasion charges against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan and release him from prison. Tigran was released on October 24, 2024, after eight months of imprisonment, and is back in the United States where he is receiving medical treatment for malaria and double pneumonia, which he contracted while in prison, as well as for complications from a herniated disk.
Other Results 21 results
Site Content
Loot boxes are randomized collections or boxes of virtual items, often made available for purchase with money. A player who purchases a loot box in a game does not know its contents until he or she opens the box, causing advocacy groups and government actors to liken loot boxes to games of chance, and to call for their regulation under gambling laws.
Site Content
Wash trading occurs when a buyer and seller collude to mislead the market and artificially inflate the value of a security without incurring any actual risk or changing the traders’ positions. The buyer and seller essentially send the security and cash back and forth, but only the initial sale is publicly reported, with the second exchange where the security and money are returned to their original owners happening surreptitiously. Wash trading was first banned by the federal government by the Commodity Exchange Act in 1936, but it has come under recent scrutiny again following the advent of high-frequency trading.
Law Glossary
Consumer fraud is commonly defined as deceptive business practices that cause consumers to suffer financial or other losses. The victims believe they are participating in a legal and valid business transaction when they are actually being defrauded. Fraud against consumers is often related to false promises or inaccurate claims made to consumers, as well as practices that directly cheat consumers out of their money.