On 4 and 5 March 2021, this year’s Forum Contracting Annual Conference 2021 took place digitally for the first time. BLOMSTEIN partner Roland M. Stein gave a presentation on external audits in the field of energy and electricity tax. A recording of the presentation is now available online.

Blomstein has advised the Allianz for Development and Climate Foundation on a procurement procedure for the selection of an asset manager. The foundation conducted a competitive selection procedure. In accordance with its foundation philosophy, it placed a special focus on sustainable investment strategies and the integration of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) investment criteria.

In the past years, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank have increased their investigations in Brazil, sanctioning two Brazilian construction companies on grounds of corruption in projects financed by them. In 2020, Andrade Gutierrez, one of the companies involved in Operation Car Wash (codenamed Lava Jato), was prohibited from participating in public procurement projects financed by the IDB and the World Bank until the end of 2022. The sanction was reduced due to a Negotiated Resolution Agreement (NRA) with the IDB. Given that an NRA is conditional on presenting relevant information to the IDB, it is expected that Brazil will remain under the IDB’s scrutiny.

With the draft of the Corporate Liability Act (VerSanG), the Federal Government has implemented its long-cherished plan to introduce corporate sanctions. The background to the amendment is that companies currently have their misconduct only sanctioned as an administrative offence. This means, among other things, that authorities have discretion to decide whether to prosecute such misconduct. In addition, the fines that can be imposed under the Administrative Offences Act are capped at 10 million EUR, irrespective of the size of the company.

With the draft of an Association Sanctions Act (VerSanG), the federal government has realised its long-cherished plan to introduce corporate sanctions. The introduction was deemed necessary as currently, companies can only be prosecuted for their misconduct under administrative offences law. This means, inter alia, that the authorities have discretion whether to prosecute such misconduct. In addition, the fines that can be imposed under the Administrative Offences Act are capped at 10 million EUR, no matter how large the company is.

BLOMSTEIN has successfully handled two Foreign Direct Investment procedures for GTCR, a leading private equity firm. GTCR has acquired the assets of the TachoSil Fibrin Sealant Patch, a sponge for hemostasis and wound sealing, and the Surgical Specialties Corporation (SSC), which is specialized in high performance surgical sutures and ophthalmic knives. Subsequently, the investor merged SSC and Tachosil into a leading provider of surgical medical products and created the new company Corza Medical.

The new edition of Lexology Getting the Deal Through: Foreign Investment Review has just been published and is now available in print and online. BLOMSTEIN partner Roland M. Stein and associate Leonard von Rummel co-authored the Germany chapter in this LexGTDT series for the third time.

In the past, investment control law has been continuously tightened (see the Amendments to the Foreign Trade an Payments Act (AWG-Novelle) as well as the 15th and 16th Amendment Ordinance of the AWV. The draft of the 17th Amendment Ordinance to the AWV has been eagerly awaited, as publication has been repeatedly postponed due to the intensive and lengthy process of interdepartmental coordination.

Four years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which follows the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. BLOMSTEIN presents the key contents of the new trade agreement in a briefing series. In Part 1, we have looked at the implementation and substantial changes in the EU-UK relationship. Part 2 focused on the trade in goods. Part 3 looked at a variety of areas from services and investments to digital commerce, energy and the level playing field. Part 4 analyzed the areas of transport and aviation, fishing, social security cooperation, freedom of movement and other cooperations. Part 5 concerned the governance structures, dispute settlement mechanism and enforcement of the agreement within the framework of national jurisdiction and the ECJ. Part 6 now draws a short conclusion.

Four years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which follows the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. BLOMSTEIN presents the key contents of the new trade agreement in a briefing series. In Part 1, we have looked at the implementation and substantial changes in the EU-UK relationship. Part 2 focused on the trade in goods. Part 3 looked at a variety of areas from services and investments to digital commerce, energy and the level playing field. Part 4 analyzed the areas of transport and aviation, fishing, social security cooperation, freedom of movement and other cooperations. Part 5 concerns the governance structures, dispute settlement mechanism and enforcement of the agreement within the framework of national jurisdiction and the ECJ.