By: Ken Chase
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The U.S. Department of Justice recently called on banks and other companies to be more proactive about reporting their misconduct, promising a variety of incentives to those who do more to self-report their misdeeds. A DOJ official announced the new approach to criminal enforcement during a banking conference in Maryland last week.
According to Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Marshall Miller, “When misconduct occurs, we want companies to step up. When companies do, they can expect to fare better in a clear and predictable way.”
The DOJ has promised that banks and other firms that self-report wrongful acts will not be forced to plead guilty. In addition, those companies that self-report and cooperate fully with regulators can avoid being assigned monitors. Miller suggested that the new approach is the result of a yearlong DOJ review of its enforcement processes.
He also discussed a number of enforcement actions related to cryptocurrency and noted that the DOJ has been tracking digital asset market volatility throughout 2022. In recent days, U.S. lawmakers have raised questions with banking regulators about that industry’s exposure and ties to digital asset exchanges in the wake of the recent collapse of FTX.
