Cartel ‘ringleader’ may not qualify for leniency in open probes, DOJ's Hammond says
By Leah Nylen ( February 2, 2012, 19:07 GMT | Insight) -- A company that acted as a cartel's ringleader might not be eligible for a Department of Justice leniency program if the agency has already started an investigation, the antitrust division’s top criminal official said.Vancouver – A company that acted as a cartel's ringleader might not be eligible for the Justice Department’s leniency program if the agency has already started an investigation, the antitrust division’s top criminal official said.
Speaking at a conference* in Vancouver, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Hammond said the DOJ might not accept a company into the program, which offers immunity to the first to come forward, if the business organized and led the cartel.
Hammond made the comments as part of a demonstration with defense lawyers on how to seek leniency from the antitrust division.
Under U.S. antitrust law, the DOJ can grant two forms of immunity: 'Type A' for companies revealing a previously unknown cartel; and 'Type B' for companies who are the first to come forward in a cartel investigation which is already underway.
“If this was a Type B leniency application, if we had an investigation that was open and these were the facts, I think it’s quite likely we would not admit your company into the program because of its leadership role,” Hammond said.
“Certainly it would be a lot tougher for us to swallow.”
However, if the company came forward with a Type A application – where the division was unaware of the alleged conduct and hadn’t yet opened an investigation – DOJ would be much more amenable to allowing a business that might have had a leadership role into the program, Hammond said.
“As a Type A application, we do what we can to tilt these applications in favor of bringing folks in,” Hammond said.
The division has never removed a company from its leniency program because it acted as a ringleader to a cartel, he said.
“We do everything we can to help companies get into the program,” Hammond said. “We’re not looking for reasons to keep them out.”
“The division has tried to set up a program that is as transparent and predictable as possible,” he added....
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