A new strategy for prosecuting white-collar crimes was unveiled by the US DOJ on Wednesday. The DOJ had previously made it their priority to target corporations in order to generate greater financial recoveries. The new policy directs that individuals, rather than their corporate employers, be charged. Further, to avoid or mitigate its own liability, any corporation accused of a white-collar crime is now required to hand over evidence of employee wrongdoing before qualifying for credit for cooperation with government officials. The ostensible goal of the new policy, to deter illegal practices and encourage a modification in corporate behavior, however, is nothing more than a reaction to the DOJ’s inaction on many recent Wall Street cases, with the likely result being the creation of corporate scapegoats to avoid large corporate fines.
A full copy of the new DOJ white-collar policy is available for download below.
