By Partner Brian Burke and associate Abdallah Salam (both New York-Litigation) authored this article for the International Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Committee’s e-bulletin. The article discusses whether and how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can extract anti-corruption enhancements from countries seeking COVID-19 funding. Unprecedented IMF leverage A record number of over 90 countries have requested financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and its colossal economic impact. In response, the IMF has pledged to place its...

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May 26, 2020 | The Lower Chamber of the Dutch Parliament voted in favour of the proposed Act on Confirmation of an Extrajudicial Restructuring Plan ("CERP"), commonly referred to as a 'Dutch scheme' or WHOA (after its Dutch name 'Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord'), on Tuesday 26 May. The bill, which was earmarked by the Dutch government as urgent in view of the impact of COVID-19 on many businesses, will now be sent to the Upper Chamber of Parliament for its...

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May 11, 2020 | Key Insights: • There are three loan facilities available as part of the Main Street Lending Program. • The three facilities have some similarities, but also some key differences to consider. • Organizations can start preparing their strategy for application to the program now. On April 30, 2020, the Federal Reserve released term sheets and a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document as it announced an expanded scope for its Main Street Lending Program (MSLP). In response to more than 2,200...

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May 29, 2020 | In a bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act on May 28, loosening some restrictions on borrowers and making it easier to qualify for loan forgiveness. Under the bill, businesses would be given more time to use the loans and greater flexibility to make needed expenditures and still qualify for forgiveness. The bill was approved, 417-1, and now goes to the Senate. Where the program stands Almost 4.5 million loans totaling $511 billion had...

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June 03, 2020 | On June 3, 2020, Congress passed the PPP Flexibility Act to loosen requirements for loan forgiveness for CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers. The new forgiveness rules will allow borrowers to extend the period for spending the loan proceeds to 24 weeks from the date of disbursement, an increase from the eight-week period originally required. The PPP program will be extended from June 30, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020. The loan application cutoff date, however, remains...

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June 05, 2020 | With the EU’s economy slowly reopening after months of hibernation, and the European Commission’s Next Generation EU stimulus package still several months away, the European Central Bank, on Thursday significantly stepped up its €750 billion pandemic bond-buying program. The ECB’s Governing Council’s decision to step up the institution’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP) by an additional €600 billion comes as eurozone economies begin to reopen, but the European Commission’s proposed Recovery Fund faces an uphill political battle in the...

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June 04, 2020 | • The Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Department of the Treasury released documentation and instructions for borrowers and lenders in advance of the opening of the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP), which is designed to provide up to $600 billion in loans for small and midsize businesses, including the documentation for the Main Street New Loan Facility (MSNLF), Main Street Expanded Loan Facility (MSELF) and Main Street Priority Loan Facility (MSPLF). • The documentation and instructions provide...

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June 04, 2020 | Courts in the Netherlands have been asked to consider whether the COVID-19 pandemic justifies walking away from a deal. So far, the courts have upheld the terms of the transaction. In other words, it's business as usual. This newsflash discusses two recent decisions. Private equity firm ordered to sign share purchase agreement In one of the first COVID-19-related cases, the Amsterdam District Court ordered a private equity firm (the buyer) to proceed with the signing of a share...

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June 04, 2020 | Currency Current Rate Overnight Change EUR 1.12 - 0.55% GBP 1.25 + 0.08% CHF 0.95 - 0.42% CAD 1.35 - 0.19% JPY 108 + 0.17% MXN 22.5 + 0.34% Overview  The U.S. dollar spent most of the evening enjoying relative calm after falling for five consecutive days.  However, the greenback is back under selling pressure in early trading as European Central Bank actions improved market sentiment and reduced demand for safe-havens.  It is Thursday which means it is jobless claims day.  Initial claims fell to 1.88M last week from over 2M a week prior.  While the trend shows that...

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June 03, 2020 | On May 28, 2020, President Trump signed an "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship" directed to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. §230(c)). Section 230 has long afforded protections to interactive computer services against litigation over their hosting and moderation of online content. In hundreds of cases since the law was passed in 1996, courts have held that Section 230 immunizes online services from claims based upon their hosting of third-party content, and...

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