The United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division had yet another banner year in 2014. The Division’s relentless prosecution of cartels at home and abroad has resulted in severe consequences for companies and individuals alike, including unprecedented fines, lengthier sentences, parent-level guilty pleas and extraditions. As Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer recently warned, ‘the risk of detection and punishment has never been higher.

We begin our annual update with an overview of Antitrust Division enforcement data. Then we address important recent policy developments related to cartel enforcement, followed by a summary of key case developments from the past year.