Businesses in possible criminal violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) may be inclined to reach for the olive branch that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently extended with its new “FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy.” Under the FCPA policy, the DOJ promises to not take criminal action against companies with foreign bribery concerns if three factors are met: voluntary disclosure, full cooperation and robust remediation.

But corporate counsel must carefully weigh many potential pitfalls before taking the fraught and irreversible step of accepting the DOJ’s offer.