DOJ's New Whistleblower Rewards Program Raises Stakes For Antitrust Compliance

The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has launched a new Whistleblower Rewards Program offering—for the first time—financial incentives to individuals who "report antitrust crimes and related offenses that harm consumers, taxpayers, and free market competition across industries from healthcare to agriculture." The program mirrors a similar initiative launched by the DOJ's Criminal Division in 2024 and reflects a broader push by the DOJ to encourage voluntary disclosures of corporate misconduct.

Overview

The program, announced on July 8, 2025, is designed to generate leads on hard-to-detect conduct such as price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation—and it carries significant implications for companies operating in high-risk sectors. Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater explained the DOJ's goal that the "Whistleblower Rewards Program will create a new pipeline of leads from individuals with firsthand knowledge of criminal antitrust and