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April 8, 2026 / Law Alert

Department of Justice applies uniform department-wide Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy

Last month, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released what it described as the “first-ever department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy” for white-collar criminal matters. The significance of this new Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) is that it supersedes all prior DOJ policies (except for the Antitrust Division), providing greater uniformity and predictability of outcome for corporations that voluntarily disclose criminal misconduct. 

Specifically, the CEP provides that the DOJ will decline to prosecute a company when:

  • The company voluntarily self-disclosed the misconduct
  •  The company fully cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation
  • The company timely and appropriately remediated the misconduct
  • There are no aggravating circumstances related to the nature and seriousness of the offense, egregiousness or pervasiveness of the misconduct, severity of harm caused or corporate recidivism

In addition, as for companies that self-disclose but “near miss” on the requirements for self-disclosure or there is a determination of an aggravating circumstance, DOJ may provide a Non-Prosecution Agreement and other lenient treatment, including a reduction in the eligible fine range.

The CEP provides material additional incentives to implement effective compliance programs, to self-investigate and to voluntarily self-disclose potential criminal wrongdoing. Still, we see some ambiguity in the terms of the CEP itself, such as to what constitutes “aggravating circumstances,” as well as potential divergences in application, particularly in the US Attorney’s Offices across the country. 

In the first publicized application of the CEP, DOJ has recently declined prosecution of a French company and its U.S. subsidiary which voluntarily self-disclosed foreign bribes paid over a six-year period before the institution of the new policy.

Key takeaways

In sum, corporations should continue to design and implement effective compliance programs to detect wrong-doing and to carefully assess the option to voluntary self-disclose any discovered misconduct.

For further information, please feel free to contact members of our White Collar Criminal Defense Practice Group, including Edmund W. Searby, [email protected], 216-443-2545.