The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced significant guidance updates to its leniency program on April 4, 2022. Under the program, companies that self-report antitrust conspiratorial activity to the government (and then fully cooperate with the government in its investigation) can receive immunity from the significant fines—and criminal sentences—imposed under the antitrust laws and a de-trebling of civil fines after meeting certain requirements.
These new updates, the first in five years, come in the form of nearly 50 new guidance FAQs addressing the Antitrust Division’s practices, and expectations, for leniency applicants.
The DOJ has repeatedly described the leniency program as “its most important investigative tool for detecting cartel activity.” Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter touted the updated guidance in a speech as an effort to “simplify and demystify our practices.”
“We are focused on making our policies intelligible to all: outside counsel, in-house counsel, and businesspeople in all sectors of the economy and at all levels of sophistication,” Kanter said. “There are no unwritten rules to enforcement at the Antitrust Division. We make our enforcement decisions based on transparent and predictable criteria.”
His remarks echo longstanding Antitrust Division sentiment that an effective leniency program requires transparency, as a willingness to self-report requires certainty on how one will be...
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