The U.S. Justice Department launched its first-ever whistleblower program on Thursday, offering monetary rewards to individuals who report specific types of corporate misconduct. This new initiative aims to enhance pressure on companies facing allegations of wrongdoing.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco explained, “We’re doubling down on a proven strategy to ferret out criminal activity that might otherwise go unreported.” The program, set to operate initially for three years, will reward whistleblowers who provide original information about corporate offenses with a share of any asset forfeitures resulting from prosecutions.
Under the program, tipsters can receive up to 30% of the first $100 million in forfeited assets and up to 5% of amounts between $100 and $500 million. This initiative is part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to encourage companies to self-disclose potential criminal activities.
Monaco explained that the company’s leadership now faces a greater risk that an individual whistleblower might report misconduct before they do.
The program is intended to address areas not covered by existing whistleblower programs from civil regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It will focus on foreign corruption, health care fraud against private insurers, and certain financial crimes, including those involving regulatory agency fraud.
