What consideration does the ACRB give to voluntary self-disclosures in its recommendations to the Assistant Secretary?
A. The ACRB gives significant consideration to voluntary self-disclosures. A voluntary self-disclosure is one of the “great weight” mitigating factors in BIS’s Penalty Guidance and is the most significant mitigating factor. It is the ACRB’s general practice to begin with a 50 percent reduction in the maximum fine as credit for filing a voluntary self-disclosure and then make any appropriate adjustments to the penalty, up or down, based upon the presence of any other mitigating factors or aggravating factors, such as an effective compliance program or a serious disregard for export compliance. The exact penalty recommendation is based upon a totality of circumstances. The concept that a person should only receive a warning letter for filing a voluntary self-disclosure does not provide the proper message since such a policy would provide little to no incentive for persons to follow the law. Further, in addition to the mitigation of any penalty, BIS is now publically acknowledging volunta
