FILLING THE GAPS: DOJ LAUNCHES PILOT WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAMME
Whistleblowing programmes have long been a part of US history. From Abraham Lincoln’s enactment of the False Claims Act in 1863 to today’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Whistleblower Program, legislative efforts encouraging the disclosure of corporate malfeasance are ongoing.
Among the most recent, launched in August 2024, is the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) ‘Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program’ – the agency’s first initiative to offer financial payouts to people who give the Justice Department original information or analysis relating to financial crimes, bribery or healthcare fraud.
Under the three-year pilot programme – sponsored by the DOJ’s criminal division and administered by its money laundering and asset recovery section – a whistleblower voluntarily providing “original and truthful information” concerning corporate misconduct that results in a successful prosecution (including criminal or civil forfeiture) may be eligible to receive an award of a percentage of the forfeited assets.
The DOJ has also designed its programme to bridge regulatory gaps (many of which exist due to jurisdictional limitations) among other agencies’ whistleblowing programmes, such as the SEC’s (with which the DOJ’s programme has similarities), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN’s).
“Lisa Monaco, deputy attorney general, described existing federal whistleblower programmes as ‘a patchwork quilt that doesn’t cover the whole bed’ of misconduct the DOJ prosecutes,” says Courtney Andrews, a partner at White & Case. “To fill the gap, the DOJ launched its programme to encourage individuals to report corporate misconduct not already covered under other programmes.”
Jan-Mar 2025 Issue
Fraser Tennant