Justice Department’s National Security Division Announces Key Corporate Enforcement Appointments

Listen to this article

The Justice Department’s National Security Division announced Tuesday key appointments have been made to lead the Division’s corporate enforcement program. Ian C. Richardson has been named the first Chief Counsel for Corporate Enforcement, and Christian J. Nauvel has been named as Deputy Chief Counsel for Corporate Enforcement. Both attorneys will coordinate and oversee the Division’s investigation and prosecution of corporate crime relating to the national security of the United States, according to Justice Department officials.

“In an era of renewed nation-state competition, corporations are on the front lines of the fight to defend our national security,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

“We have watched with concern as investigations of corporate misconduct increasingly reveal violations of laws that protect the United States. Enforcing the laws that deny our adversaries the benefits of America’s innovation economy and protect technologies that will define the future is core to the National Security Division’s mission,” Olsen said.

Cyber Security

Previously, Richardson served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. As a prosecutor, he led key corporate enforcement and national security prosecutions. In U.S. v. Lafarge SA, Richardson obtained the Department’s first corporate conviction for providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations. In U.S. v. Ticketmaster LLC, he resolved a corporate computer intrusion investigation in which the company admitted obtaining unauthorized access to a competitor’s computers, Justice Department officials said.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, in Operation Medusa, Richardson obtained the court order that authorized an FBI-led computer network operation to remotely neutralize malware used by Russia for long-term cyber-espionage.

Defending our nation’s infrastructure

Prior to joining the National Security Division, Nauvel served as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. Previously, he was a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and with the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). Nauvel served as a lead prosecutor in U.S. v. Huawei, which charged the defendants with racketeering, sanctions violations and theft of trade secrets. He has investigated and prosecuted financial institutions, including in U.S. v. Bank Julius Baer, as part of the FIFA corruption scheme. He has also conducted sensitive cryptocurrency cases within the NCET, officials noted.

In announcing the establishment of these positions in March, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco also announced that the National Security Division would add more than 25 prosecutors to investigate and prosecute sanctions evasion, export control violations and similar economic crimes.