On April 5, 2016, the DOJ announced a new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement pilot program with the goal of motivating companies to voluntarily self-disclose FCPA-related violations, to fully cooperate with the DOJ during investigations, and to promote greater accountability for individuals and corporations who violate the FCPA and related laws.

Under the program, a company that: (1) voluntarily self-discloses a suspected violation; (2) fully cooperates with the DOJ on all aspects of the investigation throughout the process; and (3) implements the appropriate remedial measures, can earn up to a 50% reduction from the bottom of the US Sentencing Guidelines fine range. Additionally, a company that meets the program’s requirements will generally not be required to appoint a monitor. The program is in effect as of April 5, 2016 and will run for one year and applies only to the DOJ’s Fraud Section, not individual U.S. Attorney’s Offices. After the year, the DOJ will assess how successful the pilot program was, whether it should be continued, and if so, whether there should be any changes to the program.

Satisfying all of the elements of the pilot program is no easy task – many of the requirements are onerous. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the DOJ will afford the maximum cooperation credit even if a company complies with all of the elements.

Read the full legal update at: http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/138645/doj-launches-pilot-program-for-fcpa-cases