Justice Sees Corporate Self-Reporting on the Rise

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr., head of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal division, reports an increase in corporate disclosures following the implementation of new incentives for self-reporting earlier this year.

Polite made the remarks during a white-collar crime conference held by the New York City Bar Association on Wednesday May 24. The DOJ has been working to enhance the transparency of its enforcement actions, including disclosing its methods for selecting monitors in settlements and the protocols for charging individual executives.

The Assistant Attorney General stressed the importance of empowering compliance officers and equipping compliance departments with sufficient resources.

“In essence, chief compliance officers must be actively involved in signing off on resolutions. The goal is to integrate the compliance division more seamlessly into the organization, instead of operating in isolation," said Polite.

Polite credited the rise in corporate disclosures to the DOJ's decision in February to set a “nationwide standard” for voluntary self-disclosure of potential corporate misconduct across all U.S. attorney’s offices. The new policy aimed at promoting voluntary self-reporting, countering the previously observed decline in such disclosures.

"We recognized the importance of extending the voluntary self-reporting program that was started in the Criminal Division across the entire department," Polite elaborated. "While it's still early days, we're observing positive impacts from these policy shifts.”