Vesna K. Harasic-Yaksic

Vesna is a skilled investigator and litigator, guiding multinational corporations, small and mid-sized businesses, and senior executives through their highest-stakes government investigations, litigation, and financial crimes compliance challenges. Drawing on her experience as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, she brings a prosecutor’s perspective to defending clients in administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings, with particular depth in money laundering investigations. She also leads and co-leads complex civil litigation and arbitrations, including civil forfeiture, Anti-Terrorism Act, and False Claims Act (FCA) matters.

Vesna is also a trusted compliance advisor, counseling clients across the full scope of financial crimes compliance – including, but not limited to, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and other anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations; the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA); the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA); and Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption (ABAC) laws. In doing so, she helps clients build and refine their compliance programs so they appropriately mitigate risk without hindering innovation. As part of her compliance practice, Vesna advises on the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), including AI governance frameworks and the integration of AI tools into existing compliance frameworks.

For four consecutive years, Vesna has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in White-Collar Criminal Defense, and in 2026 The Legal 500 US singled her out for recognition on its Washington, DC “Elite” list for White-Collar Crime.

Representative Matters

Notable Accomplishments:

• Secured a complete victory for a manufacturing company in a DOJ False Claims Act investigation involving alleged evasion of Section 301 tariffs and antidumping/countervailing duties (AD/CVD), following extensive fact development and cross-practice collaboration with the firm’s international trade group.

• Obtained favorable settlement for a European cryptocurrency trading platform in parallel civil and criminal investigation into AML compliance failures and related forfeiture proceedings.
• Secured declination from DOJ Fraud Section for a political strategist.
• Secured dismissal with prejudice for medical device company in a qui tam suit involving Anti-Kickback Act (AKA) allegations.

• Successfully defended an information technology contractor in a Library of Congress Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit involving alleged payment irregularities, which closed with no further action.

• Obtained probationary sentence in lieu of incarceration for an individual convicted of embezzlement in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA).
• Obtained dismissal by relator in a qui tam suit against a large defense contractor in the EDVA.
• Secured declination by DOJ Antitrust Division for a Fortune 500 company.

Investigations:

• Represented a regional public transportation agency in a governance and conflict-of-interest review at the request of its Board of Directors.

• Represented a network provider in responding to a grand jury subpoena in a remote-worker fraud investigation involving one of its employees, including a parallel cybersecurity incident,

• Represented a Chief Operating Officer in connection with bribery allegations involving U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs contracts.
• Represented various individuals in an FCPA investigation involving Afghanistan.
• Represented an entity in a Special Counsel investigation.
• Represented an individual in connection with an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia relating to conduit campaign contributions.
• Represented executive in an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia involving allegations of public corruption and procurement fraud.
• Represented an insurance company in an FCA investigation involving alleged false certifications of eligibility for government contracts.
• Represented a HUBZone contractor related to potential FCA violations.
• Represented a foreign financial executive in connection with parallel SEC/DOJ investigations of accounting fraud.
• Representing a government contractor in connection with an OIG investigation.
• Represented a company in a time fraud investigation involving a waste treatment facility.
• Represented a defense company operating in Iraq related to false certifications under a large government contract.

Complex Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolutions:

• Representing foreign and U.S.-based defense contractors in an Anti-Terrorism Act suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, involving alleged protection payments in Afghanistan.

• Representing a Virginia-based defense contractor in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit under the Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act (10 U.S.C. § 4701) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
• Represented an aerospace company in a domestic arbitration involving environmental remediation issues and challenged the resulting arbitration award in California state court.
• Represented an oil company in a civil forfeiture matter, preparing a petition for remission or mitigation to recover seized funds following the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria.
• Represented a large real estate developer in an arbitration seated in Singapore involving a joint venture agreement to build an entire foreign city.
• Represented a Swiss cryptocurrency mining company in enforcing and collecting on a judgment against a U.S. hardware developer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.

• Represented a defense contractor and its executives in a lawsuit involving misappropriation and business torts.

Regulatory Compliance Counseling:

• Conducted full-scale AML/CFT compliance program review for a foreign telecommunications provider operating a mobile money platform.

• Advised a foreign telecommunications company on Corporate Transparency Act compliance obligations arising from a complex, multi-layered parent-subsidiary corporate structure.

• Assisted a corporate credit union in preparing comments to FinCEN regarding the compliance burden of Section 314(a) information sharing and other reporting obligations.

• Advised a professional services firm on a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance issue involving payments to foreign officials under a grant agreement.
• Prepared and conducted a global internal investigations training for a multinational mining technology company and advised on updates to its internal investigations triage policies.

• Advised an international association on the applicability of money services business (MSB) regulations in connection with a payment platform.
• Updated a public media organization’s international business compliance policy for its employee handbook, including provisions addressing AML, terrorist financing, and trade and export controls.
• Advised a community bank on complex suspicious activity report (SAR) filing obligations.
• Advised a video game developer on the implementation of adequate AML/BSA controls for in-game currency.
• Counseled an asset management firm on AML risks associated with investment opportunity.
• Analyzed the applicability of AML rules to gift card program of a public company.
• Advised a European trading platform on implementation of KYC procedures for U.S. customers.
• Counseled a scientific research organization regarding its AML compliance obligations in relation to a government subcontract.
• Advised a Fortune 500 company on antitrust compliance policy and electronic data preservation issues.

Trial Attorney, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, U.S. Department of Justice (2015-2017):

• Represented the United States in complex money laundering prosecutions and grand jury investigations, including the investigation of a large-scale money laundering organization operating a black-market peso exchange. Those investigations involved grand jury subpoenas, search and seizure warrants, wiretaps, surveillance, and other law enforcement tools.
• Represented the United States in civil forfeiture matters including the successful forfeiture of nearly $1 million in insurance fraud proceeds.
• Assisted in the investigation of financial institutions for AML/BSA violations and failures to implement effective anti-money laundering compliance programs and controls.

Special Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (2016-2017):

• Represented the United States in the prosecution of an individual for fraud and money laundering offenses involving U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) foreign assistance funds in Africa.
• Provided forfeiture assistance to AUSAs in more than 30 federal criminal cases including fraud, bank robbery, narcotics trafficking, and sex offenses.
• Represented the United States in a civil forfeiture proceeding against an aircraft engine intended for illegal re-export to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and other U.S. sanctions violations.
• Participated in a grand jury investigation of a foreign company involved in money laundering and IEEPA violations.

Special Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (2016):

• Lead counsel for the prosecution of an individual charged with bulk cash smuggling and false statements.
• Represented the United States in the prosecution of a large-scale visa fraud scheme.
• Represented the United States in the prosecution of various misdemeanors on federal land.
• Represented the United States in supervised release and probation violation hearings.

Professional Experience

• Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (2015-2017)
• Special Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (2016-2017)
• Special Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (2016)
• Summer Honors Law Intern, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2013)
• Criminal Law Intern Investigator, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (2012)

Affiliations

• Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia (HBA-DC)
• Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA), Diversity Committee Board Member
• Cornell Club of Washington
• 2024 Pathfinder Peer Group Facilitator, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)
• 2020 Pathfinder, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)

Recognitions

• Included in The Best Lawyers in America directory of “Ones to Watch” for Criminal Defense: White-Collar (2023-2027)
• Named to The Legal 500 US Washington, DC “Elite” for White-Collar Crime (2026) and was previously a “Recommended Lawyer” (2024) in Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense.
• Selected for the HNBA Latina Executive Leadership Program (LELP) 2026-2027.