Last week, the Senate improved upon previous antitrust legislation by enacting changes to the Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Act of 2004 (ACPERA). We are proud to have worked with Congress and the Department of Justice on the new bill and believe the new version of ACPERA is a victory for antitrust law enforcement. The new law increases protections for individuals or corporations with knowledge of antitrust cartels to report them to the Department of Justice in return for amnesty for their involvement.
With the Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws (COSAL), CGL worked on three specific improvements to the 2004 law. Now in effect, we hope these changes will incentivize amnesty applicants in private antitrust cases to come forward and to cooperate in a timely manner:
- First, the improvements make clear that “cooperation” is to be weighed in satisfying ACPERA, providing an incentive for cooperation and added protections for those who do step forward and cooperate.
- Second, after a DOJ stay is lifted, ACPERA now makes clear that documents and proffers should be produced to civil claimants without ”unreasonable delay.”
- Third, we secured a 10 year sunset provision, so that when ACPERA expires in 2020 we can revisit the provisions if they need to be strengthened or improved upon.
For more information, contact Pamela Gilbert.
