Challenging Indictments Without Appearing in the United States

As we have seen with the auto-parts antitrust probe and various other antitrust investigations, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to pursue robust criminal enforcement against foreign corporations, including prosecutions of foreign individuals not residing in the United States. Many of these non-U.S. foreign individual defendants are choosing to surrender to the U.S. legal system and in many instances, serving extended prison terms. One recent case, however, suggests that non-U.S. foreign individuals have potentially viable options for contesting criminal indictments, including on jurisdictional grounds, without ever appearing in the United States. Another case, however, demonstrates the limits.