General enforcement, by criminal and civil proceedings, of the federal antitrust laws and other laws relating to the protection of competition and the prohibition of restraints of trade and monopolization are assigned to the Antitrust Division. 28 C.F.R. § 0.40.

This includes violations of the Sherman Act, which prohibits conspiracies in restraint of trade and monopolization, attempted monopolization, and conspiracies to monopolize; and the Clayton Act, which prohibits anticompetitive mergers, among other things.

The Antitrust Division also investigates and prosecutes criminal violations under Title 18 affecting the competitive process, or affecting investigations into anticompetitive conduct. JM 7-1.200. This includes criminal actions for conspiring to defraud the federal government by violation of the antitrust laws. 28 C.F.R. § 0.40.

[updated April 2022]