Record-Setting Antitrust Law Enforcement: Stiffer Fines And Longer Sentences Call For Rigorous Compliance Programs

I. INTRODUCTION

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("Antitrust Division") believes that "[h]olding individuals accountable for their actions is the surest way to deter executives from choosing to collude rather than compete for business,"¹ and promises to aggressively combat anticompetitive conduct that affects U.S. markets. Indeed, 2013 was another record-setting year for the Antitrust Division. In 2013, the Antitrust Division continued to pursue its largest antitrust investigation, imposed and collected harsher criminal fines, sought stiffer criminal penalties, and obtained the longest criminal sentence ever imposed on an individual for an antitrust violation. In 2013, the Antitrust Division charged or prosecuted 20 corporations (up from 16 in 2012) and 52 individuals (down from 63 in 2012), and matched its 2012 record of $1.1 billion in criminal fines.