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Survey of Recent Developments in Criminal Antitrust Law

By David J. Laing
February 27, 2008

There have been numerous developments in U.S. criminal antitrust law over the last half-decade ' in legislation, judicial opinions, and the publicly stated enforcement policy of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). While none have been watershed events individually, in the aggregate they fundamentally impact representation of companies or individuals under investigation for antitrust violations. This article outlines the cumulative effect of these developments and indicates how representation of companies under antitrust investigation has changed over this period.

Legislative Developments

The most significant legislative change in criminal antitrust law during this period was the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004, which increased the maximum criminal antitrust fine for corporations to $100 million, increased the maximum fine for individuals to $1 million, and increased the maximum term of imprisonment to 10 years. The increase for corporate fines to $100 million is not ground-breaking, as the DOJ has already obtained numerous fines in plea agreements substantially exceeding $100 million, utilizing the alternative 'twice gain/twice loss' provisions of 28 U.S.C. ' 3571(d). The increase in the statutory maximum will allow the DOJ to push more aggressively for fines up to the current $100 million maximum without any need to demonstrate the amount of gain or loss from an antitrust violation. The increase in an individual sentence from three to 10 years places incarceration for an antitrust violation in the same range as for traditional major frauds.

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