An official in the Fraud Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division confirmed that CEOs and Chief Compliance Officers (“CCOs”) will “most likely” be required to provide compliance related certifications in future corporate resolutions. Other senior DOJ officials had foreshadowed this requirement, and a recent corporate enforcement action imposed such a requirement.

Requiring executive compliance certifications is yet another signal from DOJ that companies need to empower compliance professionals. Companies would be well advised to prioritize compliance program enhancements and effectiveness testing before they are under investigation and to double down on such efforts during a government investigation and thereafter.

Although DOJ officials have stated that compliance-related certifications are not intended to be a “gotcha game,” false statements can subject CEOs and CCOs to criminal prosecution. We assess that these developments should be taken seriously.