U.S. Department of Justice Announces Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program

On August 1, 2024, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the launch of the U.S. Department of Justice's Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program ("Pilot Program"), which enables whistleblowers to receive financial awards in exchange for information about certain corporate misconduct. Under the Pilot Program, which was initially previewed in March 2024, whistleblowers-even those with some involvement in the reported criminal activity-may be eligible for a portion of successful forfeiture actions. The Criminal Division simultaneously announced a corresponding temporary amendment to the Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy ("Corporate Enforcement Policy") that provides that, notwithstanding that a whistleblower has already reported a matter to the DOJ, a company may still be eligible for a presumption of a declination if it self-reports the misconduct within 120 days of the whistleblower's report and does so before the DOJ reaches out to the company.

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