• |

    Jan. 1, 2025

A Good Year for Whistleblowers

As we begin 2025, it is a good moment to take a look back at a year that has been very good for whistleblowers. In March, DOJ officials announced their intention to launch a whistleblower rewards program, similar to the SEC’s long-standing – and lucrative – program. Less than six months later, the Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program went live. In the interim, the DOJ also introduced a program to encourage whistleblowers who might have been involved in wrongdoing by offering incentives to come forward in exchange for a non-prosecution agreement. Together, these developments, along with a few other policy changes and tweaks, have made whistleblowing – and the pressure it puts on companies – one of the hottest topics of 2024. This retrospective features some of our most popular articles that touch on whistleblowing. The Anti-Corruption Report will resume its regular publication schedule on January 15, 2025. Happy New Year!

DOJ’s New VSD Program Offers NPAs to Individuals Who Can Help Catch Bigger Fish

On April 15, 2024, the DOJ’s Criminal Division announced a new Pilot Program that offers wrongdoers non-prosecution agreements (NPAs) if they turn themselves – and their co‑conspirators – in. To be eligible to receive an NPA under the Pilot Program, an individual must clear several hurdles, some of which carry significant risk. Only certain individuals will qualify and, those who do must provide specific kinds of information and be willing to cooperate in the resulting investigation and prosecution, all while admitting to their own guilt in the matter. Which raises the question: Is it worth the risk? The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with experts in the field to find out. This article distilled their insights.

DOJ’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program Series

Sticking to the tight schedule it set in March 2024, the DOJ’s new Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (WAPP) went live on August 1, 2024. The Anti-Corruption report spoke with both defense and whistleblower counsel about the nuances of the program. The first article in a two-part series examined the WAPP’s limitation to cases involving forfeiture and the surprising fact that some culpable individuals can receive awards. Part two analyzed some of the specifics of who is and is not eligible for an award, how the program encourages strong speak-up cultures at companies and the DOJ’s focus on companies that might impede whistleblowing through non-disclosure agreements.

Government Enforcers Explain Their Approach to Whistleblowers and VSD

In the first half of 2024, multiple branches of the DOJ introduced programs designed to encourage individuals with information about white-collar crime to come forward by offering incentives to individuals who have merely witnessed crimes as well as those who may have participated in a crime. Government enforcers provided their perspectives on how the programs will work, what they will hopefully accomplish, and some of their limitations at the New York City Bar Association’s White Collar Crime Institute. This article analyzed their comments and highlighted the most illuminating insights.

Whistleblower Protection and Compliance: A Comparative Study of the United States and Japan

Whistleblowing plays a crucial role in uncovering corporate misconduct, fraud, and violations of law and regulations. As organizations become increasingly complex and global, the importance of robust whistleblower protection and compliance frameworks has grown significantly, but different countries approach encouraging and protecting whistleblowers in different ways. In this guest article, Lowenstein Sandler partner Robert Johnston and associate Kei Komuro compared the whistleblower protection and compliance landscapes in the United States and Japan, two of the world’s largest economies, with distinct legal and cultural contexts, revealing both similarities and significant differences.

The Price Is Right? How DOJ’s New Whistleblower and NPA Policies Could Bring Unexpected Costs

In early 2024, the DOJ created significant new incentives to encourage more individuals to self-report and to help the DOJ develop more corporate cases for prosecution. The new policies, however, may bring unintended consequences that could both complicate government enforcement efforts and hamper companies’ ability to self-police and remediate misconduct. In this guest article, Vinson & Elkins attorneys unpacked the DOJ’s new whistleblower and non-prosecution agreement policies for self-reporting and identified areas of concern that corporate compliance officers will be forced to navigate in the evolving landscape.

Most-Read Articles

Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

To mark International Women’s Day 2024, women editors and reporters of ION Analytics interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this part, Jill Abitbol, Managing Editor of the Cybersecurity Law Report and Anti-Corruption Report, features notable women in data privacy, cybersecurity, white collar defense, compliance and anti-corruption law, including Christina Montgomery, Leslie Shanklin, Palmina Fava, Alexandra Ross and Lucinda Low. Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.

Ion Analytics' Spotlight on Trailblazing Women

In honor of International Women’s Day, some of ION Analytics' editorial teams led by women interviewed notable women in the markets and industries we cover. This part highlights notable women in compliance and hedge fund, data privacy and cybersecurity, and anti-corruption law, including Amii Barnard-Bahn, Abigail Bell, Genna Garver, Jane Horvath, Barbara Li, Amy Mushahwar, Mara Senn and Carol Widger. The interviews are here.

Data, Culture, ESG and Scope Creep with GM's Michael Ortwein

The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with chief compliance officer and assistant general counsel at General Motors, Michael Ortwein, who shared his insights on top-of-mind issues in advance of his participation in ACI's FCPA Conference. 

The full video is here. The associated article is here.

Corporate Compliance and Enforcement Hot Topics With IBM VP Una Dean

The Anti-Corruption Report spoke with IBM's vice president and assistant general counsel of investigations Una Dean, who co-chaired ACI's FCPA conference, about a range of hot compliance topics. 

The video is here

Quick Take on FARA

https://acuris.wistia.com/medias/wmb5vyeq2f

The Anti-Corruption Report discusses the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in this short video. For our three-part guide to FARA and the new risk environment, see here.

ACR Editor Discusses Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Anti-Corruption Compliance

Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel recently appeared on a podcast with Perkins Coie White Collar & Investigations partners Gina LaMonica and Caryn Trombino, who discussed the use of AI in compliance programs, including trends in AI-based compliance, steps companies can take to utilize AI in their compliance programs, and how regulators view the use of data and AI in compliance programs. Listen to the podcast here.

ACR Q3 Editorial Update

Listen to our Fall Editorial Update for a discussion of recent enforcement actions; enforcement trends and policies; and top-of-mind issues, such as internal investigations and hotlines, all in under 15 minutes. Register here.

ACR and CSLR Spring Update 2020

​​​​The Senior Editors of the Anti-Corruption Report and the Cybersecurity Law Report recently teamed up to present an update on the trends and hot topics in the anti-corruption, cybersecurity and data privacy spaces since the beginning of the year and what the publications will be focusing on in the coming months. A complimentary download of the webinar is available here.

Upcoming Webinar to Explore Best Practices for AML Compliance by Private Fund Managers

Please join our sister product, the Hedge Fund Law Report, on Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, for a complimentary webinar discussing the key components of a robust anti-money laundering program. To register for the webinar, click here.

ACR Webinar: The Art and Science of Transaction Monitoring: A Google Perspective

Transaction monitoring can help a company identify problem areas and assess how well its compliance program is working. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report for a complimentary webinar on May 2, 2019, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT, where Senior Editor Megan Zwiebel will interview Google global ethics & compliance senior counsel Therese Lee and forensic program manager Aditya Yerramilli about how Google handles the art and science of transaction monitoring. Registration information is here.

ACR Webinar: Mitigating Risk in Argentina After the Notebooks Scandal

Doing business in a country that is embroiled in a mega-scandal can be treacherous. This is particularly true when the local business community is slow to get on the compliance bandwagon, as has been the case in Argentina while the Notebooks Scandal has been unfolding. Please join the Anti-Corruption Report on April 17, 2019, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EDT for a complimentary webinar in which Editor-in-Chief Nicole Di Schino will discuss how to mitigate risk in light of the developing scandal with Argentinian attorney Guillermo Jorge, a partner at Bruchou, Fernandez Madero & Lombardi, and Barrick Gold’s Jonathan Drimmer. To register, please click here.