Crowell & Moring Represents FGV Holdings in Successful Modification of CBP Withhold Release Order

Washington – January 16, 2026: Crowell & Moring LLP served as lead counsel to FGV Holdings, a Malaysian agribusiness and food company, in its modification of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CPB) Withhold Release Order (WRO).

CBP announced that it has modified the WRO previously imposed on FGV Holdings Berhad (FGV) and its subsidiaries and joint ventures, allowing the company to resume the importation of palm oil and palm oil products into the United States.

The modification marks the culmination of continued engagement with CBP, following issuance of the original WRO in September 2020. Crowell provided strategic negotiation, representation, and oversight of the corrective action planning and remediation process with CBP.

The Crowell legal team was led by partner David Stepp, with assistance from attorneys Simeon Yerokun, Pierfilippo Natta, Frances Hadfield (former Crowell Counsel), and Laurel Saito.

This achievement reflects the close collaboration between Crowell & Moring and FGV’s leadership including FGV’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer and their teams, who demonstrated sustained commitment to operational reforms addressing forced labor risk indicators.

For more details, see FGV’s official release here.

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