What Every Multinational Company Should Know About . . . Dawn Raids

In today's regulatory landscape, dawn raids — surprise, on-the-spot government inspections — have become increasingly prevalent, especially in Europe, Asia, and South America, where regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. In the European Union, the European Commission (EC) has ramped up its efforts to uncover anticompetitive practices and other misconduct, leading to a rise in unannounced inspections. In September 2024, the EC raided offices of Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse in the financial derivatives sector. Similarly, across the Asia-Pacific region, and specifically in Japan and China, governments have adopted stricter regulatory frameworks and enhanced powers to obtain evidence, resulting in more frequent dawn raids aimed at enforcing competition laws and anticorruption measures.