In 2020, the Justice Department did not insist on the appointment of any independent compliance monitors. The year before, in 2019, DOJ insisted on the appointment of three independent corporate monitors – MTS Telecommunications, Fresenius and Wal-Mart. If you ask me to distinguish between these cases and Goldman Sachs, Novartis or Herbalife, I would be hard pressed to provide a cogent explanation. Granted, we are...
In a recent speech (here), Brian Benczkowski, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division outlined the Justice Department’s new policy governing imposition of a corporate compliance monitor. (Here). The Justice Department has faced criticism concerning the circumstances and the manner in which it decides to require a corporate monitor as part of a settlement agreement. Some have suggested that the Justice Department has not...
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ― George Bernard Shaw With a new administration at the Department of Justice, practitioners and commentators are looking for signs of change. Given the current politics of the new administration, the Justice Department will undergo changes in civil rights, antitrust, and criminal enforcement. These “new” or return to old policy announcements were not surprising since they went hand-in-hand...
The Justice Department has raised the stakes on anti-corruption compliance. In other words, DOJ prosecutors expect companies to have more sophisticated and mature compliance programs. If a company walks into the Justice Department to begin the voluntary disclosure process, the company better have a mature compliance program. If the company presents only a paper program that has not been “operationalized,” the company can expect a...
