(a) Suspensions.

(1) Suspensions shall be for a temporary period pending the completion of an investigation or other legal or exclusion proceedings.

(2) If legal or administrative proceedings are not initiated within 12 months after the date of the suspension notice, the suspension shall be terminated unless a representative of the Department of Justice requests its extension in writing. In such cases, the suspension may be extended for an additional six months. In no event may a suspension be imposed for more than 18 months, unless such proceedings have been initiated within that period.

(3) FDIC shall notify the Department of Justice of an impending termination of a suspension at least 30 days before the 12-month period expires to give the Department of Justice an opportunity to request an extension.

(4) The time limitations for suspension in this section may be waived by the affected contractor.

(b) Exclusions.

(1) Exclusions shall be for a period commensurate with the seriousness of the cause(s) after due consideration of mitigating evidence presented by the contractor.

(2) If a suspension precedes an exclusion, the suspension period shall be considered in determining the exclusion period.

(3) Exclusion for causes other than the mandatory bars in 12 CFR 366.4(a) generally should not exceed three years, but where circumstances warrant, a longer period of exclusion may be imposed.

(4) The Ethics Counselor may extend an existing exclusion for an additional period if the Ethics Counselor determines that an extension is necessary to protect the integrity of the FDIC contracting program and the public interest. However, an exclusion may not be extended solely on the basis of the facts and circumstances upon which the initial exclusion action was based. The standards and procedures in this part shall be applied in any proceeding to extend an exclusion.