The revised policy both clarifies and expands DOJ’s prior disclosure guidance.
On December 13, 2019, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) revised its policy regarding voluntary self-disclosures (VSDs) of potentially willful violations of the US government’s primary export control and sanctions laws1 (collectively, US Trade Controls) (VSD Policy). The VSD Policy both clarifies and meaningfully expands prior guidance issued in October 2016 (2016 Guidance) by DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD), which first articulated a policy of encouraging VSDs for criminal violations of US Trade Controls. The 2016 Guidance established criteria with respect to self-disclosure, cooperation, remediation, and the presence of aggravating factors that, if met, could make the disclosing party eligible for certain benefits, including reduced penalties, an abbreviated period of supervised compliance, and the possibility of a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) or of avoiding an independent monitor. This 2016 Guidance was the subject of a previous Client Alert.
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