OFFICE OF FAIR
TRADING News Release (144/08) issued by COI News Distribution
Service. 11 December 2008
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the previous draft guidance document issued in November 2006.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.