The Department of Justice’s new Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program has compressed the timeline for leniency applications, creating a new “insider versus company” race that increases the risk of delayed corporate self-reports.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Glad delivered a keynote address Tuesday at the Global Competition Review Cartels: Live! Conference, outlining how the program alters the traditional corporate leniency dynamic.
Glad explained that while the Antitrust Division’s corporate leniency policy remains reserved for the first corporation to self-report, whistleblowers now have a financial incentive to report early with original information.
The program, announced in July 2025, allows whistleblowers to receive monetary rewards of 15% to 30% for tips that result in criminal recoveries exceeding $1 million.
Glad noted the program has already produced its first-ever reward: a $1 million payment to an individual whose information led to charges involving bid rigging and shill bidding in online used-vehicle auctions.
He warned defense counsel that slow internal deliberation is now riskier than before, as a company’s ability to secure leniency benefits can evaporate if an employee reports first.
Glad also addressed concerns about the reliability of incentivized witnesses, noting that cartel cases have historically relied on insider testimony and that courts allow cross-examination regarding financial incentives.
The Antitrust Division is working with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the USPS Office of Inspector General, agencies that reach every industry because many transactions involve mail.
Glad emphasized that the Division is prioritizing individual accountability, citing a 1,200 percent increase in prison days imposed in Antitrust Division criminal cases during Fiscal Year 2025.
He urged companies to create internal cultures where employees feel empowered to report concerns promptly, allowing the company to self-report and potentially avoid prosecution.