The leader of the US Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Kenneth Polite, will leave the agency for a job at a law firm after spending the past two years focusing on efforts to combat corporate misconduct and violent crime.
Polite led the division’s efforts to combat human smuggling, international criminal networks and pursue accountability for Russian war crimes in Ukraine, the DOJ said in a statement Monday. A former white-collar defense attorney and corporate compliance executive, he will depart by the end of July.
“I am deeply grateful to Kenneth for the skill and integrity with which he has led the Department’s Criminal Division,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement Monday.
He will be replaced on an interim basis by Nicole Argentieri, currently the Criminal Division’s No. 2 official, a DOJ spokesman said. Polite’s plans were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Polite helmed the Criminal Division as it responded to growing threats of cryptocurrency fraud, implemented a high-profile initiative to shift corporate enforcement priorities, and investigated former President Donald Trump and others for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Polite has worked in Washington during his tenure while his wife and children lived in Philadelphia, where he was a partner at Morgan Lewis prior to joining the Biden administration. He has split his time between both cities, Polite said at a law conference in May.
During his time as assistant attorney general, Polite emphasized the need for companies to invest in internal compliance systems to detect white-collar crime, such as overseas bribery or securities fraud. A former chief compliance officer at Entergy Corp., he also sought to give compliance professionals greater clout during negotiations with prosecutors to resolve investigations.
A major question about his legacy will be whether the Criminal Division’s efforts to improve incentives for companies to self-report possible crimes will lead to an increase in enforcement and prison sentences for corporate executives.
Asked at that same May conference if he’s observed a shift in frequency of corporate disclosures to the department, Polite replied, “We are seeing that. It’s a short time period” since DOJ revised the self-disclosure policy in January, “but we are already seeing it have an impact.”
The criminal division also expanded efforts to crack down on cryptocurrency schemes under Polite, bringing cases linked to FTX and Bizlato.
