The U.S. Department of Justice, through its Yates memo issued last September, detailed the DOJ’s all-or-nothing position on corporate cooperation credit and the prosecution of individual corporate wrongdoers.
Although the memo largely codified what had long been DOJ practice in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases, it was near universally regarded by defense counsel and companies as creating a chilling effect on self-disclosures in FCPA cases. Indeed, there has been a growing perception that voluntary disclosures have slowed significantly due to a lack of transparency and consistency with regard to the purported benefits of self-disclosure.
