Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division announced a new Whistleblower Program. Under this program, a "whistleblower" who reports criminal antitrust conduct to the Department may receive 15-30% of any fine that may result from the whistleblower's report.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division announced a new Whistleblower Program. Under this program, a "whistleblower" who reports criminal antitrust conduct to the Department may receive 15-30% of any fine that may result from the whistleblower's report. Given the enormity of fines that companies have faced in the past in resolutions for criminal antitrust allegations, the rewards for whistleblowers have the potential to be significant.
Notably, this is for criminal conduct and does not apply to civil antitrust. This leaves an important question. Many whistleblower programs do not apply to individuals involved in the conduct that is being reported. Here, DOJ Antitrust's program does not currently speak to this issue, leaving open the question of whether an individual who was involved in the underlying criminal conduct can recover a whistleblower incentive, particularly in light of the DOJ's long-running leniency program. Attorneys representing potential DOJ Antitrust whistleblowers who have some level of criminal liability will likely need to negotiate this issue in advance with the Department before reporting the conduct.
Another unresolved question is whether this program only...
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