FTC expands criminal referral program

Federal Issues FTC Criminal Enforcement

On November 18, the FTC announced the expansion of its criminal referral program as part of its effort to cease and deter corporate crime, which enhances the agency’s work in combating criminal misconduct in consumer protection and antitrust. According to the announcement, the new measures highlighted in the policy statement guarantee that cases are promptly referred to local, state, federal, and international criminal law enforcement agencies so that corporations and their executives partaking in criminal behavior are held accountable. According to the policy statement, the agency intends to refine its collaboration with its criminal law enforcement partners to stop and deter consumer protection and competition criminal violations, including by, among other things: (i) publicly and regularly reporting on the FTC’s criminal referral efforts; (ii) developing guidelines to ensure criminal law violations, specifically by major corporations and their executives, are identified; and (iii) “convening regular meetings with federal, state, and local criminal authorities to facilitate the coordination that will enable the appropriate law enforcement partners to take up cases referred by the FTC and develop best practices to enhance this coordination.” The policy statement builds on the agency’s continuing partnerships with criminal authorities to decrease misconduct. According to FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, the FTC “is redoubling its commitment and improving its processes to expeditiously refer criminal behavior to criminal authorities, promoting accountability and deterrence.”