The Justice Department’s new whistleblower program aims to crack down on white-collar crime by offering rewards to corporate insiders who provide useful tips.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks in April 2023 in the Great Hall at the Justice Department. Howard Wilkinson was a mid-level manager at a Danish bank branch in Estonia when he alerted his superiors about the suspected illicit transfer of Russian funds through the bank and then into the United States.to criminal charges of laundering $230 billion and agreed to forfeit $2 billion to settle the case with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Yet some white-collar defense lawyers cautioned that the Justice Department’s efforts could undermine the ability of corporations to conduct their own investigations, creating an incentive for tipsters to bypass internal compliance in hopes of a payday.And whistleblower advocates voiced concerns that prosecutors could become inundated with tips, making it difficult to determine which are most likely to lead to successful cases., which is limited to civil cases involving abuse of the U.S.
Wilkinson, who first came forward with his allegations in the Danske Bank case in 2014, has not been paid a whistleblower award. Federal authorities said he probably will not be eligible to apply for payment under the new Justice Department program, which will be limited to cases within the department that originate after the program is launched.Justice officials said the initiative aims to fill enforcement gaps in areas where the other federal agencies lack legal jurisdiction.
Last March, Trafigura, a Swiss-based commodities multinational, pleaded guilty to charges of bribing Brazilian officials to do business with a state-controlled oil company and agreed to settle the case for $126 million.The Justice Department’s willingness to pay for tips “does make their life easier, and it does help them bring cases, including some cases they would not discover otherwise,” said Robert Anello, a New York corporate defense lawyer.
Once federal prosecutors open an investigation, he said, “there can be a great deal of reputational harm” for a company even if the allegations are unfounded and criminal charges are not filed.
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