Office of Fair Trading
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OFT publishes revised guidance on leniency
The OFT has today published revised leniency guidance for businesses and individuals that come forward with information about their involvement in a cartel.
Under the OFT leniency programme members of cartels who provide evidence of such involvement may qualify for criminal immunity and may avoid any fine or receive a reduced penalty provided they fully co-operate with an investigation. The clarified and expanded guidance is intended to give maximum predictability and transparency for leniency applicants and their advisers. The revisions offer additional explanation and guidance on such issues as:
* the need for a 'genuine intention to confess' and of 'continuous and complete cooperation',
* the criteria for discounts which can be granted to applicants who are not the first to apply for leniency,
* the requirements for criminal immunity and when the OFT will advise individuals they are not at risk of criminal prosecution,
* the timing for entering into agreements with the OFT,
* the use to which leniency information may be put.
Simon Williams, OFT Senior Director of Cartels and Criminal Enforcement, said:
'Cartels cheat consumers by restricting competition. The leniency programme continues to be a simple and powerful tool to expose such conduct and the revisions to the OFT's guidance will help ensure that the programme continues to provide a powerful incentive to seek leniency before it is too late.'
NOTES
1. In June 2005, the OFT held a leniency conference at which it sought views on its approach to offering lenient treatment in cartel cases. As a result, an interim note was published, designed to make the process of applying for leniency more attractive and more transparent to would-be applicants. In November 2006 the OFT issued for consultation a draft final guidance note on the handling of leniency applications for companies and individuals.
2. The revisions to leniency policy are contained in the document 'Leniency and no action - OFT's guidance note on the handling of applications (OFT 803)'. This document replaces the previous draft guidance document issued in November 2006. Although the revisions are intended to finalise changes to OFT leniency policy for the present, the OFT's experience of using the policy continues to grow and further changes or additions may need to be made from time to time.
3. The OFT's leniency policy and practice are consistent with the provisions of the European Competition Network (ECN) Model Leniency Programme, which was approved in September 2006 and, in the development of which, the OFT took a leading role; see OFT press release 141/06 of 29 September 2006.
4. The full guidance can be found on the OFT website at http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/publications/reports/competition-policy/oft803. Details of how to contact the OFT to make an application for leniency can be found at http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/cartels/confess.
5. To contact the OFT about a cartel (other than as part of an approach for leniency) call the cartels hotline on 0800 085 1664. Or alternatively contact us at cartelshotline@oft.gsi.gov.uk. The OFT has a policy under which it will pay financial incentives of up to £100,000 in return for information which helps it to identify and take action against illegal cartels. For further information, see http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/cartels/rewards.
This is separate from the OFT's leniency policy and rewards will not generally be available for individuals who have themselves been directly involved in cartel conduct and who would therefore have the opportunity to gain immunity from sanction by reporting the matter.
