A RICO prosecution memorandum and draft indictment, felony information, civil complaint, or civil investigative demand shall be forwarded to the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, Criminal Division, 1301 New York Ave., NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005, at least 15 working days prior to the anticipated date of the proposed filing or the seeking of an indictment from the grand jury.

No criminal or civil prosecution or civil investigative demand shall be commenced or issued under the RICO statute without the prior approval of the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, Criminal Division. Prior authorization from the Criminal Division to conduct a grand jury investigation based upon possible violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 is not required.

A RICO prosecution memorandum and draft pleading or civil investigative demand shall be forwarded to the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. It is essential to the careful review which these factually and legally complex cases require that the attorney handling the case in the field not wait to submit the case until the grand jury or the statute of limitations is about to expire. Authorizations based on oral presentations will not be given.

These guidelines do not limit the authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct investigations of suspected violations of RICO. The authority to conduct such investigations is governed by the FBI Guidelines on the Investigation of General Crimes. However, the factors identified here are the criteria by which the Department of Justice will determine whether to approve the proposed RICO. The fact that an investigation was authorized, or that substantial resources were committed to it, will not influence the Department in determining whether an indictment under the RICO statute is appropriate.

Use of RICO in a prosecution, like every other federal criminal statute, is also governed by the Principles of Federal Prosecution. See JM 9-27.000, et seq. Inclusion of a RICO count in an indictment solely or even primarily to create a bargaining tool for later plea negotiations on lesser counts is not appropriate and would violate the Principles of Federal Prosecution.

[updated January 2020] [cited in JM 9-63.1200]