DOJ Fraud Section Publishes Its Criteria for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs

The Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section has published the common criteria it uses to evaluate corporate compliance programs during an investigation into possible wrong-doing or when negotiating settlements and plea agreements. Because a compliance program must be evaluated in context of the investigation at hand, the Fraud Section does not rely on a rigid formula, but has a series of common questions that can help it make an individualized determination. The sample topics include the corporate compliance culture and resources, underlying policies and procedures, risk assessment, training, and reporting and investigations. Under each topic, the publication lists the kind of questions investigators may ask to determine the quality and effectiveness of a corporate compliance program, including how senior officials conduct themselves; whether the company has taken steps to identify, remediate, and analyze potential or actual misconduct; if the compliance function has the autonomy and authority to raise and act on concerns; whether internal reporting and investigating processes are effective; and if the company has incentives and disciplinary measures in place.

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