3rd Annual ABA CJS International White Collar Crime Institute

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of once again attending the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s annual International White Collar Crime Institute in London.  This year’s event included a host of excellent speakers from around the world addressing some of the most pressing issues in the field.  I thought I would take just a few moments to share some of the insights and themes from the conference.

First, there was much discussion about deferred prosecution agreements in the UK.  Though a very common means of resolving a criminal investigation in the US, DPAs only became possible in the UK earlier this year.  Thus far, no DPAs have been announced in the UK.  That might be about to change, however, as several speakers informed the audience that there are rumors in London that the first such DPA may be entered into towards the end of this year.  We’ll be keeping an eye out for this significant development.

Second, many speakers pointed out important differences that exist globally when discussing white collar crime and enforcement.  For example, in the UK, the SFO prefers that corporations not interview employees during an internal investigation.  Once the US DOJ becomes involved, however, the DOJ tends to insist on interviews, thus creating a conflict of approaches.  As another examples, the trend of requiring monitors as part of settlements is beginning to lose favor in the US.  By comparison, the UK is currently moving towards monitorships.  As a final example, the role of whistleblowers remains drastically different around the globe.  In the US, whistleblowers and whistleblower incentive programs like the FCA and Dodd-Frank are generally considered important tools for discovering misconduct.  In France, by comparison, whistleblowing is discouraged.  In fact, according to our speakers, in France it would be illegal for an employer to require employees to engage in any form of whistleblowing.  These are just a handful of examples of the significant differences that exist around the world and that create complex issues for resolution in cross-border criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Finally, I’ll briefly mention the panel I moderated.  The panel examined collateral consequences of conviction around the world.  Collateral consequences are an issue that is garnering much attention in the United States today.  This is partly because of the ABA’s collateral consequences website, which is an excellent tool for researching the collateral consequences that might be applicable in a particular case.  The website also gives some incredible insights into the breadth and scope of these collateral consequences.  In Illinois, for examples, there are 2,266 statues, rules, and regulations imposing various collateral consequences.  These include things like losing the right to vote, the right to drive, and the right to hold public office.  One might lose a public pension, a business license, or even parental rights.  One might lose access to public housing and food stamps.  The list is voluminous.  One of the most unusual collateral consequences in Illinois makes it a felony for a felon to “knowingly own, possess, have custody, or reside in residence with… an unspayed or unneutered dog or puppy older than 12 weeks of age…."  Our conversation in London revealed that the trend of expanding collateral consequences is not limited to the United States.  In the UK, prosecutors are now more likely to put forward collateral consequences during a prosecution and the courts are becoming more likely to impose them on individual defendants.  

While there are many other fascinating issues that were covered during the conference, including discussion of virtual currencies, anti-bribery initiatives, whistleblowing generally, financial regulations, anti-trust prosecutions, and cyber security, I’ll stop here.  But I hope this gives some insight into the complexities of international white collar crime in a global environment where significant differences abound.  

(LED)