DOJ urges voluntary self-disclosure in corporate enforcement policy updates

The Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled new incentives to encourage companies to voluntarily report violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), including steep discounts in monetary fines against businesses that self-disclose misconduct.

In a speech Tuesday at Georgetown University, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. announced revisions to the DOJ’s FCPA corporate enforcement policy (CEP). The agency will consider reducing fines for criminal resolutions by 50-75 percent on the low end of U.S. sentencing guidelines for companies that self-disclose FCPA violations, cooperate with investigators, and remediate the misconduct.

In these circumstances, the DOJ will generally not require a guilty plea from the company to resolve the violation, said Polite, head of the agency’s Criminal Division.