The Justice Department on Tuesday released what it described as its first department-wide corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, establishing a uniform framework for how prosecutors handle corporate cases across the department, except antitrust matters. 

The department said the policy is intended to increase “uniformity, predictability, and fairness” in white-collar enforcement and supersedes existing component- and U.S. attorney’s office-specific corporate enforcement policies. 

Under the new policy, companies that voluntarily self-disclose misconduct, fully cooperate, remediate in a timely manner, and lack aggravating circumstances will generally receive a declination rather than prosecution, according to the department and the policy text. Aggravating circumstances include the seriousness or pervasiveness of the misconduct, the severity of harm, and recent or similar corporate recidivism. 

Even when a declination is granted, companies must pay disgorgement, forfeiture, and restitution or victim compensation tied to the misconduct, and those declinations will be made public, the department said. 

For companies that made a good-faith disclosure but miss the formal voluntary self-disclosure standard, or that have aggravating factors warranting a criminal resolution, the policy directs prosecutors to offer a non-prosecution agreement absent especially serious aggravating circumstances.

In such cases, prosecutors should keep the terms of the agreement under three years, avoid imposing an independent compliance monitor, and provide a penalty reduction of at least 50 percent and up to 75 percent off the low end of the sentencing-guidelines fine range.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the policy is designed to reward companies that “come forward and do the right thing” by self-disclosing, cooperating, and remediating, while preserving the department’s ability to pursue companies and individuals involved in white-collar misconduct. 

The policy also defines voluntary self-disclosure to require a good-faith report to the appropriate Justice Department component, disclosure before an imminent threat of government detection, and reporting within a reasonably prompt time after the company becomes aware of the misconduct. 

It includes a whistleblower exception allowing a company to remain eligible for a declination if it reports within 120 days after receiving an internal whistleblower report and otherwise satisfies the policy’s requirements.

Read more at the U.S. Justice Department