Insights

President Trump’s pick for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, took quick action upon her swearing in on February 5, 2025, to make changes within the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) via the issuance of fourteen separate memorandum directives to DOJ employees. The memoranda kick-off Bondi’s efforts to re-calibrate DOJ policies, enforcement priorities, and internal procedures to align with broader policies of the Trump administration. Two of the memoranda in particular, one laying out a “General Policy Regarding Charging, Plea Negotiations, and Sentencing” (“General Policy Memorandum”) and the other focused on the “Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations” (“Cartel Policy Memorandum”), include several key changes related to the DOJ’s enforcement of corporate crime, corruption, and national security-related laws.

FCPA Impact

The Cartel Policy Memorandum directs the Criminal Division’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) Unit to specifically prioritize “investigations related to foreign bribery that facilitates the criminal operations of Cartels and TCOs [i.e., Transnational Criminal Organizations], and shift focus away from investigations and cases that do not involve such a connection.” In addition, the Cartel Policy Memorandum states that DOJ components outside of the Criminal Division are no longer required to obtain authorization from the Criminal Division to investigate or prosecute cases under the FCPA when related to cartel or TCO operations.

The FCPA is the primary anti-corruption law in the U.S. and generally prohibits the exchange of corrupt payments or bribes with foreign officials for business advantages and requires publicly listed companies in the U.S. to comply with certain accounting standards. Over the past two Presidential administrations, the DOJ’s enforcement of the FCPA has been used to combat corrupt payments or bribes paid to any foreign government. But the Cartel Policy Memorandum indicates a conscious re-direction of the DOJ’s focus to combat illicit activities occurring closer to home, chiefly narcotics trafficking and cartel-related crimes.

It is still unclear how FCPA enforcement, when unrelated to cartels or TCO operations, will be impacted by the DOJ’s new internal policies. However, the Cartel Policy Memorandum makes clear that the FCPA will be a key tool used by the DOJ to combat transnational crimes like narcotics trafficking and suggests that FCPA enforcement is likely to increase in the near future.

FARA Impact

Attorney General Bondi’s General Policy Memorandum also directs a re-focusing of enforcement priorities under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”). FARA requires persons in the United States to register with the DOJ when engaged in certain political activities on behalf of a foreign principal. FARA registration requirements help protect U.S. national security by promoting transparency into the operations and motives of agents acting on behalf of a foreign principal that may seek to influence U.S. public opinion, policies, and laws. In recent years, the DOJ renewed its focus on FARA as an enforcement priority and increasingly pursued criminal actions under FARA. See our article on past FARA enforcement and regulatory updates here and tune-in to our podcast, episode 10 on FARA. 

The FARA-related instruction included in the General Policy Memorandum, however, is a clear turn away from criminal enforcement of FARA. Pursuant to the General Policy Memorandum, criminal actions under FARA and the related statute, 18 U.S.C. § 951,[1] are now limited to cases involving “alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.” Instead, the components of the DOJ responsible for FARA enforcement are to focus on civil enforcement of FARA, including through the development of “regulatory initiatives” and “public guidance.”

Other Re-Structuring Updates

In addition to the FCPA and FARA enforcement updates, the General Policy Memorandum and Cartel Policy Memorandum include directives shifting resources within the DOJ to align with the new Department priorities. These resource shifts have included the disbandment of key task forces and units that have played a role in corporate and national security- related enforcement over the past several years.

The DOJ has now disbanded Task Force KleptoCapture, created in 2022 to assist with enforcement of Russia-related sanctions. The General Policy Memorandum also directs DOJ to disband the Foreign Influence Task Force, created to combat foreign interference in U.S. elections, and the Corporate Enforcement Unit that was operating within the DOJ’s National Security Division (“NSD”). Although these enforcement arms are now gone, the DOJ’s ability to investigate and prosecute related violations under the FCPA, FARA, economic sanctions regulations, and other national security-related laws has not been diminished.

Maintain Effective Compliance Measures

Attorney General Bondi’s General Policy Memorandum and Cartel Memorandum initiate changes to DOJ policies in line with broader Trump administration priorities that relate to government efficiency, combatting drug trafficking and organized transnational crime, and corporate compliance. Importantly, violations of FARA and the FCPA are still subject to DOJ enforcement actions. Additionally, many jurisdictions outside the U.S., including the UK and European Union, have similar anti-corruption laws and frameworks with which multinational companies must comply, when operating outside the United States.

The memoranda do not specifically address DOJ goals and priorities for the enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws. However, the DOJ, and in particular the NSD, often plays an active role in the investigation and prosecution of sanctions and export control violations.[2] Companies should continually monitor regulatory updates that may increase compliance risks. As DOJ policies develop and evolve under the new Administration, it is better to remain proactive in adapting internal compliance measures than to risk becoming subject to a future enforcement action due to compliance lapses or failures.

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Torres Trade Law, PLLC, often assists clients with the development and maintenance of internal compliance programs with respect to U.S. anti-corruption, national security, and international trade laws and regulations. If you have any questions about requirements or compliance with FARA, the FCPA, or U.S. sanctions and export controls, please feel free to contact the attorneys at our firm.