NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department will not pursue charges against companies that share when they find wrongdoing by businesses they are buying in a bid to encourage more self-disclosure, the Deputy Attorney General said on Wednesday.
The DOJ wants to encourage a company acquiring another to disclose any misconduct found during the mergers and acquisitions process with a new safe harbor policy, Lisa Monaco said at an industry compliance conference.
“Encouraging companies to self-report misconduct can result in a virtuous cycle,” Monaco said in a prepared remarks, noting that doing so can help identify and prosecute those who do not.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice and Andrew Goudsward)