Business Advisory

Representation of PRC-based clients in assessing, addressing and mitigating risk of changing U.S. export-control regulations.

Regulatory Investigations + Enforcement

• Representation of a Chinese state-owned enterprise in the technology sector in challenging regulatory action by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
• Represent client in addressing U.S. sanctions issues arising from the purchase of a Russian-owned aircraft.
• Represent Hong Kong client in advocating before the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the release of funds blocked pursuant to Iran sanctions regulations.

Internal Investigations

• Conduct internal investigation into data exportation allegations on behalf of a major U.S. corporation operating in China.
• Service as World Bank Group-appointed Investigator for China’s largest state-owned construction company in connection to its debarment by the World Bank in connection with misconduct on a China “Belt & Road” project.
• Under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016 (“PROMESA”), service as independent investigator to the Special Investigation Committee of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico to perform a comprehensive review of the factors contributing to Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis.
• Advise Middle East sovereign government on investigating alleged sanctions and money-laundering violations and executing a global strategy to prosecute and recover assets from multiple jurisdictions.

Monitorships

• Service as independent integrity compliance monitor for a major listed Chinese technology corporation in connection with its debarment by the World Bank Group.
• Service as independent integrity compliance monitor for a major Chinese state-owned engineering and construction corporation in connection with its debarment by the World Bank Group.

White-Collar Criminal Matters

• Representation of a China-based business executive in a U.S. investigation involving allegations of corporate accounting fraud.
• Representation of an executive at a Southeast Asian subsidiary of a multinational pharmaceutical company in responding to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Justice about alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, arising from payments allegedly made to physicians and the accounting treatment of those payments.
• Representation of Asia-based business executive in a multi-jurisdictional investigation involving allegations of fraud, bribery and money laundering.
• Represented South American sovereign government in forming legal strategy to recover historical antiquities held by a major U.S. university.
• Fought U.S. attempts to extradite a foreign former head of state and a U.S. corporate executive.
• Defended U.S. defense contractor against civil allegations of trade secret theft.

Government Matters

Prosecuted numerous federal criminal matters including:

• U.S. Navy admiral convicted of involvement in the Glenn Marine Navy bribery scandal
• Numerous individuals and entities for criminal violations of U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws, including Iranian and Russian sanctions, and ITAR and CCL violations
• Numerous individuals and companies facing criminal charges for corruption and fraud schemes in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Criminal matters involving violations of U.S. espionage laws
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News

• Wade Weems, Chang Liu and Kairu Huang on U.S. Enforcement After the China Initiative in Caixin Global
• Wade Weems Discusses U.S. Department of Justice’s Broadening National Security Policy Against Russia and China in Guidepost Webinar
• Wade Weems to the Anti-Corruption Report: Expect More Compliance Monitors Under Biden Administration
• U.S., Korea Antitrust Enforcers on Watch for Bid-Rigging in USFK Defense Contracts
• Wade Weems and Joshua Huang in Caixin Global: Here’s How Chinese Targets Should Respond to U.S. Subpoenas
• Wade Weems Looks Back at 2021 U.S. Anti-Corruption Enforcement Trends with The Anti-Corruption Report
• Martin De Luca, Wade Weems and Scott Nielson on Growing U.S. Enforcement Against Central America
• Kobre & Kim Placed in GIR 100 2021
• Wade Weems and Chang Liu Investigate the Possible Limits of China’s New Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law
• Wade Weems Analyzes the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act for the Anti-Corruption Report
• Wade Weems Discusses Enduring U.S.-China Conflict Over TikTok in the South China Morning Post
• Wade Weems and Calvin Koo Look at the First Few Months of Hong Kong’s National Security Law in China Business Review
• Wade Weems Weighs in on Prospects of a “Probable” TikTok Deal in Politico
• Wade Weems, Chang Liu and Nan Wang on U.S. Enforcement Risks to Wealthy Chinese Individuals
• John Han, Evelyn Sheehan and Wade Weems on the Risks of Wealthy Hong Kong Individuals’ Moving Assets Abroad
• Wade Weems Analyzes Herbalife FCPA Settlement with Anti-Corruption Report
• Wade Weems Looks at Next Steps after TikTok’s Oracle Deal with South China Morning Post
• Wealth Talk: Wade Weems on U.S.-China Trade War and Risks to Chinese Individuals
• Wade Weems Analyzes World Bank Investigations from a Chinese Perspective
• Wade Weems Assesses TikTok’s Legal Options in the U.S. for the South China Morning Post
• Wade Weems, Nathan Park and Beau Barnes on How the U.S. Government Can Hurt Chinese Social Media App “TikTok”
• Wade Weems and John Han on Hong Kong’s Loss of U.S. Preferential Trading Status
• Clearing Your Name: Fending Off Trade Secret Theft Judgment Claims
• Clearing Your Name: When Trade Secret Disputes Become a National Security Issue
• Clearing Your Name Against U.S. Civil Trade Secret Theft Claims
• China’s Belt and Road Initiative Could Lead to a Trail of Global Corruption Investigations
• Kobre & Kim in Foreign Policy: Chinese Banks Are the Next Frontline of the U.S.-China Trade War
• Wade Weems with South China Morning Post on Chinese Banks’ Possible Breach of U.S.-North Korea Sanctions
• Extradition & Due Process: U.S. Asylum Seekers Are on “Notice” Too
• Wade Weems Quoted in New York Times Investigation on Corruption Within China’s Healthcare Industry
• John Han and Wade Weems Lead Seminar on Unfair Competition Practices in the PRC, Southeast Asia
• Wade Weems Teams Up with Heywon Shin to Present on Voluntary Disclosure
• U.S. Increasingly Enforcing Against India
• U.S. Enforcement Against the PRC: Preparing for the Next Wave
• A New Door to Obtaining Business Intelligence in Offshore Cases
• Kobre & Kim Explains the Global Reach of U.S. Sanctions in the New York Law Journal
• Beware the Reach of U.S. Sanctions
• 5 Ways to Plan Ahead as the U.S. Moves to Curb Foreign Investment
• Global Government Enforcement Defense Team Offers Strategies on Filing Whistleblower Claims for Those Outside the U.S.
• Kobre & Kim is the Latest Am Law 200 Firm to Launch in Shanghai

Publications

• Co-author, “Monitorships in East Asia,” Chapter 9, Global Investigations Review Guide to Monitorships, (April 25, 2022)
• Co-author, “How China’s Bilateral Investment Treaty Obligations Could Limit the Impact of its Anti-Foreign Sanction Law” (Law.com Int’l, August 2021)
• Co-author, “The Engel List Foreshadows U.S. Enforcement in Central America” (The Anti-Corruption Report, December 2021)
• Co-author, “The Latest Tool in the U.S. Enforcement Arsenal Against China Targets Forced Labor” (The Anti-Corruption Report, January 2021)
• Co-author, “Hong Kong’s National Security Law, Five Months In” (China Business Review, November 25, 2020)
• Co-author, “World Bank Group Investigations: A Chinese Perspective” (Thompson Reuters Practical Law, October 2020/2021)
• Co-author, “Meng Wanzhou Incident Highlights Risks Facing Chinese High-net-worth Individuals” (China Banking News, September 2020)
• Co-author, “The Hong Kong Wealth Shift: Pitfalls for Wealth Professionals and the Ultra-Wealthy” (Law.com Int’l, September 2020)
• Co-author, “Trump Can’t Ban TikTok, but He Can Hurt It” (Foreign Policy, July 24, 2020)
• Co-author, “The United States is Going After China’s Banks” (July 21, 2019)
• Co-author, “U.S. Enforcement Against the PRC: Preparing for the Next Wave” (JD.Supra, December 2018)
• Co-author, “A New Door to Obtaining Business Intelligence in Offshore Cases” (JD.Supra, November 2018)
• Co-author, “Understanding the Global Reach of U.S. Sanctions” (New York Law Journal, November 2018)
• Co-author, “The Right Strategy Is Everything When It Comes to Filing Whistleblower Claims, Especially for Those Outside the U.S.” (Bloomberg Law, March 2018)

Quoted in the following:

• “Tech to Remain a Tug of War between China and US in 2021” (South China Morning Post, January 2021)
• “Earth to Washington and Beijing: It’s Not All About You” (Politico, September 2020)
• “TikTok’s Oracle Deal Likely to Be a Close Call Ahead of Trump Deadline” (South China Morning Post, September 2020)
• “Selling TikTok in the US Is a Pivotal Moment for Bytedance — but a Deal Is Easier Said Than Done” (South China Morning Post, August 2020)
• “Herbalife Nutrition Sheds $123M to Resolve FCPA Problems in China“ (The Anti-Corruption Report, August 2020)
• “The Potential TikTok Sale is a Herculean Task” (Inkstone news.com, August 2020)
• “Chinese Banks Dismiss U.S.-N. Korea Sanctions Breach Charges” (South China Morning Post, June 2019)
• “Bribes and Backdoor Deals Help Foreign Firms Sell to China Hospitals” (New York Times, June 2019)

Recent Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, Townhall: The End of the China Initiative, March 17, 2022
• Moderator, The US Competitive Response to the BRI – Pushback Too Little, Too Late? (ABA and American Society of Int’l Law, December 2020)
• Speaker, Partnering with Governments to Deter and Monetize IP Theft and Counterfeiting in Greater China and SE Asia (Association of Corporate Counsel, Hong Kong (ACCHK), June 2019)
• Speaker, Voluntary Disclosures: How to Meet Government Requirements When, and What to Disclose (ACI Annual Hong Kong Summit on Economic Sanctions Compliance and Enforcement, May 2019)

• Investigations Award for Excellence, Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency
• Superior Honor Award, U.S. Department of State
• Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service, and Joint Service Commendation Medals, U.S. Marine Corps

• U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.)