Department Of Justice, Antitrust Division Issues New Guidance Promoting Effective Corporate Antitrust Compliance Programs

On July 11, 2019, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “Division”) announced sweeping changes to its approach to criminal antitrust investigations, stating that it will now consider a company’s antitrust compliance program at the charging stage of an investigation. This constitutes a reversal of the Division’s long-standing policy under its corporate leniency program, which previously denied credit to companies at the charging stage for having a compliance program, and only reduced antitrust penalties for those defendants who were “first in the door” to report antitrust violations. Now, companies that fail to qualify for leniency but have implemented effective antitrust compliance programs may qualify for a deferred prosecution agreement, in which a prosecutor can agree to dismiss the charges after a period of time if the company makes certain changes. Other incentives for companies to implement qualifying compliance programs include the