President Biden’s Justice Department is promising leniency for white-collar crime in corporate America, provided the bad actors come forward and report their own wrongdoing.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, who oversees the DOJ’s criminal division, unveiled the new policy during a speech at Georgetown University on Tuesday. Mr. Polite said companies that report their own misdeeds would not face prosecution, provided they agree to rectify their misconduct.
“While we continue to utilize our investigative resources and partners to uncover wrongdoing, we could never completely identify and address this area of criminality without corporations — our corporate citizens — coming forward and reporting the conduct of these wrongdoers,” he said.
Apart from avoiding criminal prosecution, the Justice Department is pledging to slash penalties for wrongdoing. Companies that come forward and self-report can see a 75% reduction in fines and fees.
“When a company has uncovered criminal misconduct in its operations, the clearest path to avoiding a guilty plea or an indictment is voluntary self-disclosure,” Mr. Polite said. “The policy is sending an undeniable message: Come forward, cooperate and remediate.”
Companies will be eligible to take advantage of the 75% discount only if they are a first-time criminal offender. Even companies that don’t come forward willingly, but still cooperate with DOJ investigations, will be eligible to receive at least 50% off their financial penalties.
Overall, prosecutors will have discretion over how much to slash fines and penalties.
The new policy expands on incentives already offered to companies involved in foreign corruption, including bribing officials of overseas governments for preferential treatment. It will now be eligible for companies that have committed domestic crimes such as fraud, money laundering and polluting the environment.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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