In Short
The Development: On January 29, 2026, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the U.S. Postal Service ("USPS") Office of the Inspector General announced the first whistleblower award under the Whistleblower Rewards Program.
The Result: Increased awareness of the program heightens the risk of detection and changes the calculus of whether and when a company should consider self-reporting potential misconduct.
Looking Ahead: As the DOJ and USPS continue issuing awards under this program, companies face an increased risk that antitrust violations will be detected and externally reported. This change necessitates a reassessment of self-reporting strategies and a renewed focus on the effectiveness and responsiveness of compliance programs to ensure that potential issues are identified and addressed before they escalate to external authorities.
Overview
Last summer, the DOJ and USPS partnered to launch the Whistleblower Rewards Program to offer financial incentives to individuals who report antitrust crimes and related offenses.
The program offers awards at the DOJ's discretion to individual whistleblowers if their information leads to a criminal conviction and fine of at least $1 million, or an equivalent recovery from a deferred prosecution or non-prosecution agreement. The reward is set at a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 30% of the recovered criminal fine or penalty. If multiple whistleblowers are involved, the total shared award will not exceed 30%. The DOJ...
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