Who Watches The Store? Drastic Decline Of Corporate Monitors Under Trump

September 8, 2020  |  The Insider: White Collar Defense and Securities Enforcement

The recent settlement by Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York totaling over $123 million is the latest in a string of enforcement actions under the Trump Administration that identified violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act but noticeably did not also impose an independent corporate compliance monitor. Herbalife neatly illustrates the recent paradigm shift inside the DOJ, as the stipulated facts and extensive nature of the illicit scheme outlined in the deferred prosecution agreement are of the caliber that in previous days likely would have led to the imposition of an independent monitor. The decision not to impose one here was said to be due in part to the company’s cooperation and remedial efforts by the time of resolution. Even if the company’s cooperation and remedial efforts contributed to the government’s decision not to insist on a monitor, that decision likely was also part of a concerted effort by the current administration to sideline the use of monitorships generally. [...]

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