DOJ APPLIES CLAWBACK PILOT PROGRAM IN REDUCING COMPANY’S SETTLEMENT PRICE
November 23, 2023
The DOJ has reduced by more than $760,000 the settlement a chemical maker will pay to resolve allegations of having bribed foreign officials, under a DOJ pilot program that rewards companies which voluntarily “clawback”—recoup or withhold—compensation from executives or employees involved in the alleged wrongdoing. Albemarle Corp. still agreed to pay more than $218 million to resolve allegations by DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the company violated the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. But the settlement price would have been $763,453 higher if not for DOJ’s Compensation Incentives and Clawback Pilot Program, which the agency announced in March. The company learned about possible misconduct in Vietnam approximately 16 months before disclosing it to the DOJ, the department said. The DOJ took the belated disclosure into consideration in evaluating the appropriate disposition of the case. “If you find that problem early enough and report it early enough, you can have a substantial impact on how the Department of Justice or the SEC respond to it.”
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