By the time a client realizes their name is circulating through international channels, the damage is often already done. Travel plans fall apart. Banks tighten KYC and compliance reviews. Professional credibility becomes collateral in an opaque system of “international cooperation” that most people never think about until it starts working against them.

INTERPOL is not a global police force, and it doesn’t have the power to arrest anyone. It’s a coordination platform—an international system that lets member countries share data and request cooperation through standardized alerts and connected databases.

The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) set the rules for how defense-related items, services, and technical information are made, shared, and transferred. This includes not only exports and imports, but also what happens inside a company’s day-to-day operations. 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control — better known as OFAC — is the agency that enforces U.S. economic and trade sanctions. In plain terms, OFAC enforcement is how the government investigates suspected sanctions violations and decides what happens next.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is responsible for enforcing the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) — the rules that control the export, reexport, and even in-country transfer of commercial items, “dual-use” technologies, and certain military-related products.

The IRS Whistleblower Program is one of the most powerful — and financially rewarding — tools in the U.S. enforcement system. Created to help expose serious tax fraud, evasion schemes, and large underpayments, the program allows individuals to report violations confidentially and earn up to 30% of the government’s recovery.

Since the Dodd–Frank Act of 2010, the SEC has fundamentally reshaped how securities fraud and corporate misconduct are detected and addressed. Through its Office of the Whistleblower (OWB), the Commission has recovered billions in penalties and awarded over $2 billion to individuals whose insider information helped uncover violations.

Sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are often described as punishment — a way for the United States to respond to misconduct abroad by blocking assets or restricting trade. But that description only captures part of the picture.

As international law enforcement becomes increasingly interconnected, INTERPOL — the International Criminal Police Organization — now plays a significant role in immigration and security screening worldwide. Its 195 member countries share millions of records each year, including Red Notices and Diffusions that alert governments to individuals wanted for arrest or questioning.