Our colleague Ryan Becker reports that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is alive and well and remains a top enforcement priority for the new administration. In an article published today, Ryan writes that since 2016, the Justice Department’s Fraud Section has resolved 17 criminal corporate matters under the FCPA, obtaining more than $1.6 billion in penalties and forfeited profits. Last week, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein reaffirmed DOJ’s commitment to FCPA enforcement while announcing a revised corporate enforcement policy aimed at incentivizing corporations to self-report violations and fully cooperate in exchange for a declination of prosecution. The new policy largely formalizes principles previously announced in April 2016 as part of the DOJ’s “Pilot Program” on FCPA enforcement. Rosenstein credited the positive results of the Pilot Program with a significant increase in voluntary disclosures over the prior 18-month period. As a result, DOJ has adopted the new enforcement guidelines, which will be incorporated into the U.S. Attorneys’ Manual. You can read Ryan’s article here.
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