Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein recently issued remarks highlighting the importance of the DOJ’s consistency in enforcing policies “hold[ing] individuals accountable for corporate wrongdoing.” In particular, Deputy AG Rosenstein stated that the agency should focus on improving the recent track record of brining criminal proceedings against company employees—noting that the last 20 DOJ corporate FCPA enforcement actions have lacked related criminal charges against company employees—and that, going back to 2008, approximately 80% of DOJ corporate FCPA enforcement actions have lacked related criminal charges against company employees. He noted that various DOJ policies, including the Yates Memo and the FCPA Pilot Program, have shifted the focus away from entity liability, and toward issues surrounding individual officer or director liability.

The comments are yet another in the steady drumbeat of calls, both internal and external to the DOJ, for DOJ enforcement strategy to hold individual corporate employees accountable for FCPA violations, although how much that strategy is being implemented remains to be seen. As Deputy AG Rosenstein’s comments concluded: “When we are serious about wanting people to follow rules, it does no good merely to post them. We need to make clear our intent to enforce the rules, with sufficient vigor that people fear the consequences of violating them.”