US Department of Justice Issues New Corporate Compliance Guidelines -

Criteria for the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs -

Introduction -

Recently, and without the fanfare that often accompanies new policy guidance regarding corporate fraud, the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice posted a document on its website entitled “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” (hereinafter “Compliance Guidance”). The stated purpose of the document is to provide “sample questions that the Fraud Section has frequently found relevant in evaluating a corporate compliance program” and no doubt reflects the influence of the DOJ Compliance Consultant, Hui Chen.

The Compliance Guidance outlines eleven broad “sample topics and questions” in a checklist format. No topic or question is particularly novel or breaks new ground. But whenever the Department issues written guidance to corporations regarding how it will approach evaluation of corporate criminal conduct and remediation, companies should take careful note.