US attorney says it will not prosecute companies that cooperate in criminal investigations
By Chris Prentice
NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors plan to increase incentives for companies that cooperate during criminal investigations and promise not to sue those companies, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan said on Thursday.
Jay Clayton’s remarks at an industry conference came as the Justice Department under the Trump administration scaled back enforcement for corporate crimes and refocused on immigration and drug cases.
Companies need to know that there is a certain benefit to cooperating with U.S. prosecutors to eliminate criminals, Clayton said at the Securities Enforcement Forum in New York.
That includes offering companies deals called non-prosecution agreements, or NPAs, which Democrats have criticized in the past.
“Our approach will be: Let’s sign an NPA as soon as possible, calling for continued cooperation,” he said.
Clayton, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said the different approach to collaboration will also benefit shareholders. He previously led the Securities and Exchange Commission, a civilian regulator, during Trump’s first term as president, focusing on retail investors at the time.
He said white-collar crime issues remain among these retail investors’ top priorities, and he is keeping an eye out for abuses in small-cap stocks, private funds and prediction markets. Asked whether the so-called event contracts provided for prosecution, he said: “Yes.”
Clayton also criticized past enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which prohibits companies operating in the United States from bribing foreign officials.
The Justice Department paused enforcement of the law last year and continued with a scaled-back approach plan. Clayton criticized the law for putting the United States at a disadvantage against other countries and for punishing companies rather than targeting individual offenders.
“I hate the corruption of foreign officials,” Clayton said. “I hate the enforcement of the FCPA.”
(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
