Competition watchdog increases reward to £250,000 to help crack down on cartels
The Competition and Markets Authority has said the reward will increase as part of its ‘cheating or competing’ campaign.
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK competition watchdog has more than doubled its reward to potential informants who can help it clamp down on illegal cartels.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said the reward will increase from £100,000 to £250,000.
Illegal cartels involve businesses agreeing not to compete in order to keep prices higher for customers.
The CMA is running its “cheating or competing” campaign to provide advice for people and businesses to help them spot and report anti-competitive practices.
Because cartels are generally conducted in secret, we need to encourage people to come forward and provide us with the information we need to crack down on cartels and protect people and businesses from the harm they cause
Michael Grenfell, executive director of enforcement at the CMA, said: “Cartels can cause serious damage to their customers, whether businesses or individual people, weakening price competitiveness – a particular concern at a time of cost-of-living pressures.
“The CMA’s job is to stamp out illegal cartels, but because cartels are generally conducted in secret, we need to encourage people to come forward and provide us with the information we need to crack down on cartels and protect people and businesses from the harm they cause.
“For these reasons, we are today increasing the maximum financial reward for informants and whistleblowers who provide us with valuable information about cartels so that we can take action.”
Businesses found to have been involved in cartels can be fined up to 10% of annual turnover and individuals directly involved can face up to five years in prison.
The reward for reporting on cartel behaviour is separate to the watchdog’s leniency programme, where firms or individuals involved in cartel activity can escape sanctions if they come forward with information, provided conditions are met.