by Jonathan J. Rusch
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Within the past year, federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies have repeatedly signaled that recidivist violations of law by corporate entities are likely to result in substantial penalties. Those signals include recidivism-specific policy statements, such as the Justice Department’s revision of its Corporate Enforcement Policy[1] to reflect its “more holistic approach to corporate recidivism”[2] and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) recent revisions of its Policies and Procedures Manual to address banks’ failure to correct persistent weaknesses.[3]
But those signals also include specific enforcement actions that carried substantial financial penalties, such as the Justice Department’s $315 million criminal penalty against ABB[4] and $206.7 million criminal penalty against Ericsson[5], and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau/OCC $250 million enforcement actions against Bank of America for illegal activity in its consumer business.[6]
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