Antitrust Division Updates Its Leniency Policy and Issues Revised Plain Language Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division today announced updates to its Leniency Policy and issued a revised set of frequently asked questions (FAQs). The Antitrust Division also launched a new dedicated email address to make it easier for companies and individuals to apply for leniency. These changes reaffirm the Antitrust Division’s commitment to transparency, predictability and accessibility in criminal enforcement.

The Antitrust Division Leniency Policy allows the first individual or company to self-report its involvement in an antitrust cartel to avoid prosecution if it cooperates with the Division’s investigation and prosecutions, and meets other conditions. The updated policy announced today now also requires that a corporate applicant promptly self-report after discovering its wrongful conduct and undertake remedial measures to prevent reoffending.

“It’s important for the rules of the road to be clear so the business community knows what to expect and appreciates the costs of losing the race for leniency,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division. “Corporate boards and executives, and the counsel advising them, should understand that sitting on their hands after detecting an antitrust crime will have real ramifications — losing out on leniency means severe consequences.”

As part of the updates, the Leniency Policy was centralized in the Antitrust Division’s chapter of the Justice Manual, 7-3.000 – Criminal Enforcement | JM | Department of Justice. The revised FAQs, available at Leniency Program (justice.gov), include nearly 50 new questions and answers about the Division’s practices concerning leniency. They are written in plain language and provide guidance to outside and in-house counsel, and businesspeople in all sectors of the economy and at all levels of sophistication.