The Department of Justice (DOJ) is hiring 10 new prosecutors and launching a new pilot program aimed at enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), according to an announcement last week.
The DOJ's fraud unit will see a 50 percent bump in prosecutors devoted to FCPA enforcement, which focuses on bribery and accounting fraud in countries outside of the U.S. The FCPA enforcement pilot program aims to motivate companies to "voluntarily disclose FCPA-related misconduct" in an effort to further align with the provisions of the Yate's memo released last year.
The DOJ is also "strengthening its coordination with foreign counterparts" and offering greater transparency about what prosecutors require regarding voluntary self-disclosure and full cooperation with FCPA investigations. Under the pilot program, companies that bring forth misconduct in a timely manner before the government launches an investigation, and disclose "all relevant facts," will be eligible for credit.
"If a company opts not to self-report, the pilot program makes it clear that the outcome will be significantly different and significantly more severe than if it had self-reported," Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in a conference call with reporters, according to Bloomberg BNA.
On Tuesday, the Office of Inspector General released a "Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations," identifying the agency's top 25 concerns, including new therapy payments made to skilled nursing facilities, requiring Part D plan sponsors to report fraud, limiting Part D beneficiaries to a certain number of pharmacies or prescribers and developing a comprehensive plan to address fraud vulnerabilities in EHRs.
To learn more:
- here's the DOJ announcement
- read the Bloomberg BNA article
- read the OIG report