When the FBI Comes Calling…®

Transnational criminal law is a complex body of federal and international law. It is distinguishable by the fact that for a crime to be considered "transnational" the boundaries of two nations must be crossed in some way, whether it is an email message sent from the United Kingdom to the United States, or an attempt to smuggle antiquities out of Italy into Switzerland. In the US Federal system, a number of laws address transnational crimes, but the international community, through organizations like the UN, Europol, or Interpol, has enormous influence on the classification of activities as transnational crimes.

An individual who is charged with a transnational crime can be indicted in the United States or in the state courts of countries that have criminalized such behavior. An indictment might follow after a criminal investigation in which Interpol, Europol, the FBI, or other criminal intelligence agencies become involved in investigations.

The purpose of this site is to provide information that can help you understand your legal exposure, whether you have been the target of an Interpol investigation or charged by a criminal indictment. You will also find statutory provisions specific to the US Federal Criminal Code, how courts have interpreted the statutes, what the government must prove in order to convict, and what you need to know about defending yourself against an international criminal indictment.

To learn about U.S. federal criminal law within the domestic arena go to our Federal Crimes and Federal Crimes Blog sites.

To learn about international extradition go to our International Extradition and International Extradition Blog sites.

To learn about international criminal law go to our International Crimes and International Crimes Blog sites.