In April, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a one-year
pilot program offering certain violators of the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act (FCPA) the possibility of reduced sanctions on top of
any credit provided for by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The FCPA
generally prohibits payments to foreign government officials that
are made to secure business.
Under the pilot program, companies that (i) voluntarily
self-disclose misconduct, (ii) fully cooperate, and (iii) remediate
in a timely and appropriate manner, qualify for up to a 50-percent
reduction from the bottom of the fine range under the Sentencing
Guidelines, as well as avoidance of appointment of a monitor. The
guidance also indicates that, if all of the program's
conditions are met, the DOJ may exercise its discretion not to
prosecute at all. A company that does not voluntarily self-disclose
– but that fully cooperates and remediates – is
eligible for at most a 25-percent fine reduction.
