In his remarks last week before the ACI Conference on the FCPA, among other things, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski reaffirmed the DOJ Criminal Division's support of companies' investing in robust compliance programs that can enhance their ability to prevent and detect misconduct, and its commitment to view such investments favorably in any enforcement-related evaluation. He elaborated: "In publishing the Criminal Division’s compliance evaluation guidance earlier this year, we sought to convey to the bar and the corporate community that we place a significant value on compliance program investment and improvement, and that we will approach compliance program evaluation in a thoughtful way that is guided by much more than 20/20 hindsight."
His remarks demonstrate the Division's sensitivity to the fact that companies may be hesitant to invest in compliance program enhancements that increase the likelihood of detection of misconduct for fear of the associated legal exposure, and the need for the Division to address those concerns directly to promote proactive identification and voluntary self-disclosure.
See also this memo from Alston & Bird; these WSJ articles: "Corporate Compliance Efforts Count—But With Limits, Official Says" and "Justice Department Looks to Streamline Penalty Negotiations in Corporate Cases"; last week's report: "FCPA: DOJ Policy Tweaks Further Encourage Self-Disclosure"; and additional resources on our Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and DOJ Compliance & Enforcement pages. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!