Karina Thomas is an associate in the litigation and enforcement group, where she focuses on cross-border investigations, health care fraud investigations, monitorships, and internal compliance programs in the U.S. and Latin America. She also advises clients on transactional deal diligence, focusing on anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and sanctions risk.
Karina brings a decade of practice as a Brazilian lawyer to her U.S. investigations work. Admitted in São Paulo, New York, and the District of Columbia, and fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, she has represented companies across anti-bribery, white-collar, and tax matters in Brazil, and has designed and implemented anti-corruption compliance programs for Brazilian and multinational companies. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional–International, and co-authored the Latin America chapter of The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigations.
Karina was an extern at the Integrity Vice-Presidency of the World Bank Group and was subsequently retained as a consultant on its Latin America investigative team, conducting fraud and corruption investigations into World Bank–financed projects. During her LL.M. at Georgetown, she founded and served as president of the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Student Association.
Experience
- Represented an individual victim of a crypto-enabled investment fraud scheme, including blockchain tracing of stolen assets, coordination with the FBI regarding wallet freezing, and discovery in the resulting litigation.
- Assisted team that supported the Independent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Monitor appointed by the DOJ in a monitorship of a commodity trading and mining company.
- Conducted internal investigation for a beverage company involving allegations of fraud and private corruption in Latin America.
- Conducted internal investigation for a health care company involving allegations of bribery in Latin America.
- Conducted cross-border investigations for Integrity Vice-Presidency of the World Bank Group.*
- Conducted internal investigation for a marketing company involving allegations of embezzlement in Brazil.*
- Designed and conducted compliance trainings for several multinational companies in Brazil.*
- Conducted cross-border investigations for a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB).*
- Represented a Brazilian investment firm in connection with violations of laws before the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
- Conducted internal investigation for a major oil company involving allegations of bribery in Latin America.
- Conducted risk-based deal diligence on high-risk cross-border transactions focusing on anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and international sanctions risks.
- Designed and implemented anticorruption compliance programs for Brazilian and multinational companies.*
*Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray