Timothy O'Toole was quoted regarding how companies can prepare for export controls and sanctions investigations in 2018, including which parts of the world are riskiest, how investigations can arise, the increasing frequency of cross-border investigations, and how artificial intelligence can help and hinder compliance. "I think the thing that's new in 2018 that I wouldn't have been saying this time last year is, look out for China/North Korea. It's a huge enforcement priority," O'Toole said. "The Chinese banking sector appears to be attracting the US regulators' attention. And if you're in the oil and gas/shipping sector, you also should be thinking about this," he said, adding, "in terms of broader trade security, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [FCPA], China is always going to be a big risk because of the prevalence of state-owned enterprises. From an AML [anti-money laundering] perspective, there are very considerable money laundering risks when it comes to North Korea, as the Dandong case illustrated so well." Another important thing to for companies to consider is the different ways corporate investigation can present themselves. "Sometimes, a call comes in from an employee, either via the official whistleblower process or otherwise through the employment process. Or it might be that the company has been alerted to a suspicious transaction by its bank, or a routine audit reveals something that should be looked into. Or it might be that there’s a knock on the door [by an official of a regulatory authority]," O'Toole said.  "In which case, you need to differentiate between a hard knock and a soft knock. They may simply be curious about something and asking around. If it’s a hard knock, there’s much less room for the company to undertake its own enquiries and revert at its leisure. Either way, you need to be prepared."