The Department of Justice and Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced new policies to federal prosecutors nationwide that prioritizes the prosecution of corrupt corporate employees, managers and executives and puts pressure on corporations to turn over evidence against these employees; no matter their status. The main focus of the policy is to prosecute criminal activity that is often hidden behind corporate cooperation agreements. According to the NY Times:
The memo, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times, tells civil and criminal investigators to focus on individual employees from the beginning. In settlement negotiations, companies will not be able to obtain credit for cooperating with the government unless they identify employees and turn over evidence against them, “regardless of their position, status or seniority.” Credit for cooperation can save companies billions of dollars in fines and mean the difference between a civil settlement and a criminal charge.