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Switzerland generally gets good marks for its efforts to keep its financial markets clean. Together, the Swiss Penal Code, the Guidelines of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission and the Code of Conduct of the Swiss Banks constitute a solid regulatory barrier against the channelling of criminal money into the banking sector. The Financial Action Task Force of the G7 countries not long ago recognized Switzerland's efforts as a substantial contribution to the worldwide struggle against money-laundering.

Since disposing of its oil interests in Ecuador in 1992, Texaco has faced a spate of lawsuits stemming from damages allegedly caused by decades of oil exploration and extraction activities carried out by a consortium company owned by the state-owned oil company, Petroecuador, and Texaco. In the US, these claims have been pressed in the federal courts through class actions brought in the name of Ecuadorean citizens seeking damages of US$1.5 billion and equitable relief consisting of a court-supervised clean-up of the affected areas in Ecuador. The first such suit, Sequiha v Texaco, started in Texas in August 1993, seeking damages for 500,000 Ecuadoreans, and was dismissed five months later on grounds of comity and forum non conveniens. The second, Aguinda v Texaco, was brought in November 1993 for a class of about 30,000 indigenous citizens. It continued through pre-trial discovery until November 1996, when the New York federal court dismissed the claims on the same grounds. However, the judge also based the dismissal on the failure to join two indispensable parties to the litigation — Petroecuador and the government of Ecuador — deemed necessary for the equitable portion of the case.

The Court of Appeal upheld, among other things, the freedom of contract in Citicorp Investment Bank (Singapore) v Wee Ah Kee. Under a loan agreement to fund Wee's purchase of shares in CIL, Wee granted Citicorp a charge over CIL shares to secure his indebtedness and a call option to purchase 30% of the CIL shares acquired using the loan.

Every project facility must obtain an environmental licence from the Ministry of the Environment. The licence must be obtained before the project is started. An environmental licence is an authorization from the environmental authority to carry out work or a project which may cause damage to renewable natural resources such as water, air, fauna, flora, or landscape. The licence specifies the requirements and conditions that must be met, and the consequences of non-compliance.

Media multinational The News Corporation is to acquire Dallas marketing company Heritage Media. The tax-free merger will cost News Corporation about US$754 million. News Corporation intends to keep Heritage's marketing services operations, but to sell its radio and television broadcasters.

Gallaher Group, the UK's largest manufacturer of tobacco products, which manufactures Benson and Hedges, Silk Cut, Hamlet cigars and Condor pipe tobacco, has demerged from American Brands and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Brazil’s unsatisfactory arbitration law has been updated to make this form of dispute resolution more attractive. By Walter Douglas Stuber and Noemia Mayumi Fukugauti of Amaro, Stuber e Advogados Associados, São Paulo

Under new guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Cyprus, the requirements for the acquisition of shares and/or share options and/or rights issues of banking institutions listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange are as follows:

The National Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores or CNV) has enacted its General Resolution No. 288, which aims to prevent money-laundering. The Resolution sets out general rules associated with the information to be provided by the following entities:

In contrast with Paul Hastings and Cadwalader, Washington's McKenna & Cuneo opened a small London office in March and has yet to announce its presence. The firm is trying to keep the office quiet. Office head Patrick Doyle says: "We have good relationships with many UK firms. We don't want to create the impression that coming to London would disrupt our relationships with London firms." Doyle says that he and his colleague Saleem Malik aim to "keep our heads down – we might announce something in a year or so". The firm will wait until US lawyers have come to London to reassure UK firms as to McKenna & Cuneo's intentions before making an announcement.