The Justice Department will prioritize prosecuting individuals who commit corporate environmental crimes, a top agency official said in what one attorney called a departure from traditional prosecutorial practice.
“Only individuals can go to jail, and we have found that criminal corporate accountability starts with accountability for individuals responsible for criminal conduct,” Todd Kim, the assistant attorney general for the department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a speech to be broadcast at the American Bar Association’s National Environmental Enforcement Conference.
Kim’s pre-recorded keynote address, a component of the conference scheduled for Tuesday, was first made available to registrants on Dec. 10.
DOJ won’t restrict its criminal enforcement to environmental statutes and will consider Title 18 crimes of fraud, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice when committed alongside environmental violations, Kim said.
“A genuine threat of criminal prosecution can and will change the conduct of individuals and corporations who would not be deterred by the threat of civil enforcement alone,” he said.
Kim’s remarks echo comments by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who in October told the ABA’s White Collar Crime National Institute that the criminal prosecution of individuals was a top priority of the Biden administration.
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