Individuals now have a new incentive to blow the whistle on an antitrust cartel—the possibility of a monetary reward. The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division has established its first whistleblower rewards program whereby individuals who report certain types of antitrust crimes can potentially receive a monetary reward in return for information.
The Antitrust Division recently partnered with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) to create the new program to incentivize individuals to provide information about collusion, particularly in industries where the USPS procures goods and services. Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Antitrust Division predicted in a press release that the whistleblower rewards program “will create a new pipeline of leads from individuals with firsthand knowledge of criminal antitrust and related offenses that will help us … hold violators accountable.”
Under the new whistleblower program, individuals who report “original information about antitrust and related offenses [affecting the USPS] that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million” may qualify for a monetary reward between 15 percent and 30 percent of any criminal fines recovered.
What’s New About This Program?
Until now, the DOJ has not offered a monetary reward as an incentive for individuals to report antitrust crimes.1 Instead, the DOJ has historically relied on other methods to...
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