RJR NABISCO, INC., ET AL. v. EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
Supreme Court of the United States, Alito, June 20, 2016,
RICO – RICO may apply to conduct outside of the United States if the predicate offenses clearly support that application, but a civil RICO action requires a domestic injury

On RICO applying extraterritorially for specific predicates: 7-0-0 with 1 justice not participating and 1 opening
On a civil RICO action requiring a domestic injury: 4-3-0-0 with 1 justice not participating and 1 opening

(Concur & Dissent – Ginsburg with Breyer, Kagan – Concur with extraterritorial RICO application, but dissent that a civil RICO action doesn’t require domestic injury)
(Concur & Dissent – Breyer – Same as Ginsburg, but specifically noting the lack of evidence of “international friction” caused by allowing extraterritorial injury)
(Sotomayor took no part in the consideration of this case)

Greatly simplified, the complaint alleges a scheme in which Colombian and Russian drug traffickers smuggled narcotics into Europe and sold the drugs for euros that-through a series of transactions involving black-market money brokers, cigarette importers, and wholesalers-were used to pay for large shipments of RJR cigarettes into Europe. In other variations of this scheme, RJR allegedly dealt directly with drug traffickers and money launderers in South America and sold cigarettes to Iraq in violation of international sanctions.

RICO – Racketeering includes dozens of predicate offenses under state and federal law engaged in as part of a “pattern” of racketeering activity (2+ predicates within 10 years)

Unlawful to:
– Invest income derived from racketeering into enterprise
– Acquire/maintain interest in enterprise through racketeering
– Conduct enterprise affairs through racketeering
– Conspire to any of above

Extraterritoriality – in general, “United States law governs domestically but does not rule the world.” “When a statute gives no clear indication of an extraterritorial application, it has none.”