Friday, March 8, 2024
New DOJ Whistleblower Policy
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco Delivers Keynote Remarks at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime - here
Lisa Monaco stated in showcasing the new DOJ whistleblower rewards program:
So we’re planning something new: a DOJ-run whistleblower rewards program. Today, we’re launching a 90-day sprint to develop and implement a pilot program, with a formal start date later this year.
The premise is simple: if an individual helps DOJ discover significant corporate or financial misconduct — otherwise unknown to us — then the individual could qualify to receive a portion of the resulting forfeiture.
Over the next several months, we’ll fill out the particulars, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri will discuss that process in greater detail tomorrow. But we’ve already established some basic guardrails. For example, we’d offer payments:
Only after all victims have been properly compensated;
Only to those who submit truthful information not already known to the government;
Only to those not involved in the criminal activity itself;
And only in cases where there isn’t an existing financial disclosure incentive — including qui tam or another federal whistleblower program.
Used proactively, this program will fill gaps. It will create new incentives for individuals to report misconduct to the Department. And it will drive companies to invest further in their own internal compliance and reporting systems.
Now, for all the potential whistleblowers listening today, you might be wondering what to look out for. While we’ll always accept information about violations of any federal law, we’re especially interested in information about:
Criminal abuses of the U.S. financial system;
Foreign corruption cases outside the jurisdiction of the SEC, including FCPA violations by non-issuers and violations of the recently enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act; and
Domestic corruption cases, especially involving illegal corporate payments to government officials.
Maybe you work — or your client does — at a fast-growing private startup here in the Bay Area, and you discover the company's been paying bribes to get regulatory approvals and doctoring the books to hide the payments. If you come forward, you could get paid as part of the recovery from that criminal case.
For speech/remarks from DOJ - here.
(esp)
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/2024/03/new-doj-whistleblower-policy.html