As we noted
earlier this month, one factor that may contribute to the
increase in criminal antitrust fines over the past ten years is the
Antitrust Division's focus on anticompetitive conduct that is
international in scope. Indeed, the Antitrust Division's chart listing Sherman
Act violations yielding a corporate fine of $10 million or more
shows that nearly all of the investigations resulting in fines
greater than $10 million are international.
In addition to the fact that the conduct at issue in these
investigations is global in scope, there has also been a trend
towards increasing cooperation among enforcement agencies.
Indeed, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has
recently noted "a steady increase in the number and
complexity of international requests for assistance in
enforcement-related matters," explaining that in the 2013-2014
year, the FCA received 1022 formal requests for assistance from
overseas counterparts. Moreover, these requests
