The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that, for the first time, it will offer rewards to individuals who report antitrust crimes and related anticompetitive offenses.
The new Whistleblower Rewards Program was launched in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the USPS Office of Inspector General to potentially reward those who provide original information about antitrust and related offenses affecting the USPS. The program seeks information on price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market allocation, as well as other criminal antitrust violations.
Under the Whistleblower Rewards Program, an individual may be eligible for a financial award for voluntarily reporting original information about an eligible criminal violation that is timely, specific, and credible if that information results in a criminal fine or other recovery of at least $1 million. The whistleblower could receive between 15 and 30 percent of the fine or recovery.
Until now, the DOJ has relied upon other methods to encourage the reporting of potential antitrust violations, including a leniency policy for self-reported violations. While the Whistleblower Rewards Program is limited in scope, it nonetheless represents the DOJ’s willingness to begin offering financial rewards for actionable information about antitrust violations.
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