DOJ Announces New Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy for All U.S. Attorneys' Offices
On February 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") announced the Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy ("VSD Policy" or "Policy"), detailing the circumstances under which a company can receive credit for voluntarily self-disclosing criminal conduct to U.S. Attorneys' Offices ("USAOs"). This represents a shift in corporate enforcement at the USAOs, which had generally lacked formal policies for self-disclosure credit and applied varying and nontransparent approaches on an office-by-office basis.
The VSD Policy, which is effective immediately, aims to standardize how USAOs define and credit "voluntary self-disclosure" by companies across the country. The Policy is meant to provide enhanced transparency and predictability for companies contemplating self-reporting corporate misconduct. In particular, the VSD Policy is intended to standardize the treatment of companies that satisfy the criteria set forth in the Policy across the USAOs.
In this White Paper, members of the Jones Day Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice, including our eight former U.S. Attorneys, discuss the VSD Policy and offer key takeaways that companies should bear in mind.
