Fraud Section Report Helps Companies’ Counsel Navigating DOJ’s Seas

March 22, 2023  |  The Insider: White Collar Defense and Securities Enforcement

DOJ’s 2022 Year In Review Report released last month not only recounts its Fraud Section’s activity and “accomplishments” for the preceding year, but also allows practitioners and in-house counsel responsible for helping companies and their executives navigate the shoals of corporate compliance anticipate the government’s likely future focus. This year’s Report first suggests that in the upcoming years DOJ will continue to focus on individual accountability for corporate malfeasance particularly in the area of financial fraud and market manipulation. Second, the Report also foreshadows an increase in independent compliance monitorships in corporate resolutions, a practice previously avoided  under a Trump-era policy. A third area to watch is the modest increase in corporate declinations in 2022, suggesting that particularly in light of the recent news of an expanded Corporate Enforcement Policy, DOJ has an appetite for early resolutions for “cooperative” institutions. In addition to these trends, recent events make clear that bank-related fraud will also work its way onto DOJ’s agenda in 2023.

Fraud Section Report Helps Companies’ Counsel Navigating DOJ’s Seas