NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice

Department has paused corporate monitorships as part of an

informal review into the practice of installing such firms to

oversee companies that have resolved accusations of wrongdoing,

according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The DOJ is in the process of reviewing a series of

settlements in which firms have agreed to hire monitors in order

to resolve government investigations into misconduct, according

to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The review

started two weeks ago, one of the people said.

Monitorships, which involve appointing independent third

parties to oversee a company's compliance with a settlement

agreement and laws, are widely criticized by corporate America

as costly and burdensome. Proponents say they are often

necessary to ensure that wrongdoers fix issues.

The frequency of the government's use of corporate monitors

as part of its settlements has tended to vary depending on

Justice Department leadership. Republican President Donald

Trump's first administration moved away from using them, but

former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, reversed that policy in

an effort to tackle corporate crime.

Under Biden, Boeing ( BA ) and cryptocurrency exchange

Binance were among the firms that settled charges with the DOJ

with agreements that included monitorships.

The department's new leaders are skeptical of such programs,

according to one of the sources. Bloomberg earlier reported that

the Justice Department was weighing whether to permanently

disband some monitorships.

A third source with knowledge of the situation said firms

have been pressing DOJ to get rid of their monitors.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, a judge granted the Justice Department's request

for an early end to the monitorship for Glencore ( GLCNF ), the

energy giant that in 2022 agreed to pay more than $1 billion to

settle foreign bribery and market manipulation charges.