Admissions
- Washington, DC
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for D.C.
Education
- George Washington University, J.D., 1972; LL.M., (Tax), 1973
- Stockholm University School of Law, LL.M. 1974
- Stockholm University Graduate School, Diploma, 1974, Editor of the Scandinavian Studies of the Law
- Free University, Brussels, LL.M., international law, 1975
- George Washington University, B.A., 1969 [History with Honors]
Languages
- Spanish
- Portuguese
Overview
Bruce Zagaris advises individuals, business entities, and foreign governments on navigating tax transparency, anti-money laundering, transnational corruption, and sanctions in an international environment. With more than 54 years of experience, he counsels clients, including many law firms, on how to meet the overlapping and conflicting web of international regulations and enforcement requirements. He often serves as an expert witness on extradition, tax controversy, anti-money laundering, and other areas of transnational crime. Working with his BCR colleagues, he conducts internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, and represents clients before prosecutors and regulators.
Representative Experience
- Obtained a large judgment against a royal family in the Middle East for an African American woman recruited to be a nanny.
- Helped represent two Americans charged with murder abroad before the court dismissed the case.
- Represented foreign governments in tax treaties, tax information exchange, and FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement negotiations.
- Proposed and drafted laws on international financial products for foreign governments.
- Handled over forty Voluntary Disclosures for U.S. taxpayers.
- He has served as an expert for both the defense and the U.S. government on international enforcement cases.
- Designed anti-corruption due diligence policies for multinational enterprises.
- Conducted training for foreign prosecutors on corruption-based anti-money laundering prosecutions and asset recovery in seven Middle Eastern countries.
- Advised the National Security Council on strategy for dealing with international organized crime for the U.S. President’s address to the UN General Assembly on the 50th Anniversary of the UN.
Practice Focus
- White collar crime, including sanctions, defense, due diligence programs for entities, expert consultation, and expert testimony.
- Tax controversy, including internationally.
- Financial regulatory and money movement issues.
- International financial products and tax policies, including for foreign sovereigns.
- Advice on Foreign Agents Registration Act.
- Advice and representation in international disputes, especially evidence gathering, INTERPOL Red Notices, and extradition.
- Advice on transnational corruption, including conducting internal investigations, grand jury investigations, and preparation of due diligence programs.
- Advice on Caribbean legal matters.
Professional Affiliations/Recognition & Awards
- Association of Certified Financial Crimes Specialists, Board Member
- American Society of International Law, formerly Executive Committee and Int’l Legal Materials Board
- American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, Co-Chair, International Committee; Tax Section, former Chair of the International Enforcement Subcommittee, Civil and Criminal Penalties Committee; Section of International Law, former Chair, International Tax Committee and International Criminal Law Committee
Publications
- International White Collar Crime: Cases & Materials (2d. ed. 685 pp. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2015)
- INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: CASES & MATERIALS (Carolina Academic Press, 4th edition 2013) (co-editor with Jordan Paust, et al)
- Foreign Investment in the United States (Praeger Press, 1980, 323 pp.)
- DEVELOPMENTS IN MEXICAN-U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION: WHAT THE PRACTITIONER NEEDS TO KNOW (198 pp., Crim. Just. Sec., ABA, April 20, 1989)
- HANDBOOK ON DRUG CONTROL (463 pp. Greenwood Press, 1992) (co-editor with Dr. Scott MacDonald).
- BUSINESS ETHICS: A GUIDE TO SURVIVING STORMS, CHALLENGES, AND ETHICAL RISKS (with Adriana Sanford and Brad Holcomb) (Pearson 2015).
- International Enforcement Law Reporter (1985- ), weekly and monthly journal,
- Law and Development or Comparative Law and Social Change–The Application of Old Concepts in the Commonwealth Caribbean (about the administration of justice project) 19 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI INTER-AMERICAN LAW REVIEW 549-93 (No. 2, June 1988) [Panel, CLE, webinar, etc.]
- Dollar Diplomacy: International Enforcement of Money Movement and Related Matters–A United States Perspective, 22 GEORGE WASHINGTON JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & ECONOMICS 466-552 (1989).
- Developments in International Judicial Assistance and Related Matters, 18 DENVER JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & POLITICS 339-86 (1990).
- Protecting the Rule of Law from Assault Against Drugs and Narco-Terrorism, 14 NOVA LAW REVIEW 703-45 (1991).
- Mexico United States Extradition and Alternatives: From Fugitive Slaves to Drug Traffickers – 150 Years and Beyond the Rio Grande’s Winding Courses, 12 AMER.U. J. OF INT’L L. & POLICY 519 627 (1997) (co-author).
- Extradition, Evidence Gathering and Their Relatives in the Twenty First Century: A U.S. Defense Counsel Perspective, 23 FORDHAM INT’L L.J. 1403 43 (June 2000).
- U.S. Efforts to Extradite Persons for Tax Offenses, 25 LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES INT’L & COMPAR. L.REV. 653 96 (2003).
Speaking
- At the request of the House Ways & Means Oversight Committee, testified on the tax information exchange provisions and agreements under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act in February 1986.
- In September 1987, testified at the request of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer and Monetary Affairs, Committee on Government Operations, on the U.S. Government’s efforts to combat international tax evasion, and especially the decision to terminate the income tax treaty between the U.S. and Curaçao.
- In September 1988, at the request of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, testified on whether the U.S. should ratify six pending Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, including the one with the Cayman Islands.
- On May 21, 1988, presented a written statement, “Tourism as an Export,” Foreign Commerce & Tourism Subcommittee, Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, urging more development assistance, including the creation of a Cultural Corps as part of the Peace Corps to work in areas such as the Caribbean, and other cooperation with Caribbean tourism.
- Periodic speaker at conferences of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners, including STEPLA, STEPLATAM, STEP Miami.
- Speaker at ABA National Institute on Tax Fraud and Tax Controversy, 1993-2024.
- April 23, 1987, organized and chaired a discussion program, “Legal Developments in Caribbean Tourism and Travel,” with the participation of two Caribbean Ministers of Tourism, two members of Congress, and one Ambassador.
- 1985, co-chaired and spoke at the International Exchange of Tax Information Recent Developments (Practising Law Institute, 1985)