Legislation in the United States now permits the federal courts to register and enforce orders issued by foreign courts for the purpose of preserving assets that are subject to forfeiture under foreign law.

This article discusses the problems the United States encountered when it first attempted to enact and apply legisation designed to facilitate the enforcement of foreign asset-preservation orders, the remedial legislation enacted to address those problems, and the recent success the U.S. government has had under the new legislation in restraining assets at the request of foreign courts so that they may be forfeited under foreign law.