Given the recent remarks of Daniel W. Glad – Director of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (“Strike Force”) for the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division – it is clear that criminal antitrust is rapidly rising as a top enforcement priority. Speaking at the Virginia Bar Association’s Annual White-Collar Fall Forum on September 14, 2023, Glad underscored an intensified commitment to launching criminal investigations within the federal procurement sector.
Glad’s announcement should not come as a surprise to those who have been closely monitoring these changes; this reinforced commitment is aligned with the DOJ’s trajectory since November 2019. It was then that the DOJ established the Strike Force as an interagency initiative, with a two-fold aim. It sought, in the first instance, to deter procurement collusion and related fraudulent practices. Secondly, it aimed to enhance the proactivity of the department in seeking opportunities to redress such activities.
With Glad’s robust reassertion that “There are cops on the beat”, large corporations and law firms managing federal procurement processes must now shift focus and reassess their procedural strategies. The implications here go well beyond simple regulatory compliance. What we’re confronting now is a very real potential for criminal investigations, and this demands a higher level of awareness and effective risk mitigation.
The responsibility then falls not just on the in-house counsel, but on all levels within the organization. It is, after all, a collective effort to ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of procurement processes in this heightened enforcement environment.