Embedded in the escalating use of non-prosecution (NPA) and deferred prosecution agreements (DPA) by U.S. regulatory agencies has been an increasing focus on directors and senior management and the need to provide strong and visible support for a culture of compliance. Often included as part of such settlements, the so-called “Attachment C” spells out detailed requirements internal compliance units must implement and adhere to. Increasingly, the focus in recent NPAs and DPAs has been a provision “requiring the directors and senior management of the company to provide strong, explicit, and visible support for the company’s policy against violations of the relevant laws and compliance code,” according to a study published last week by law firm Gibson Dunn. Such language has appeared more frequently in NPAs and DPAs from 2013 and 2014 than in prior years, the study found: “The frequent inclusion of this ‘tone from the top’ provision suggests that compliance functions that have not
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