DOJ Begins FCPA Self-Disclosure Pilot Program
The Justice Department Fraud Section’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit on April 5 started a pilot program for companies to self-disclose corporate crimes prohibited by the FCPA, such as bribery of foreign officials, DOJ said (here). Under the program, DOJ is giving companies mitigation credit if they meet several mandates, including “proactive” disclosure of all relevant facts of individuals involved in the wrongdoing before “an imminent threat” of outside disclosure or government investigation presents itself, and within “reasonably prompt time after” becoming aware of an offense, DOJ said. Mitigation could include a different resulting disposition type, a fine reduction, or determination of a need for a monitor. DOJ acknowledged it’d be tough to determine company remediation measures taken, but said the Fraud Section’s compliance counsel is “assisting” the department in “refining our benchmarks” for determining to what degree companies have implemented an effective compliance and ethics program, compliance culture, resources dedicated to compliance, quality and experience of compliance personnel, and risk assessments, among other things.
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When a company has voluntarily self-disclosed FCPA misconduct in strict accordance with DOJ’s guidelines, it qualifies for the full range of outlined mitigation credit. If the FCPA Unit determines grounds for resolution, it may give up to a 50-percent reduction off the bottom end of the United States Sentencing Guidelines fine range, and “generally should not” require appointment of a monitor, DOJ said. In addition to starting the pilot program to combat FCPA violations, DOJ is increasing its FCPA unit by 50 percent, adding 10 more prosecutors to its ranks, the department said. The government said it believes this will “significantly augment” the ability of the Fraud Section and the FBI to find and prosecute FCPA violators.