The OFT announced today that Mercedes-Benz and three of its commercial vehicle dealers, Ciceley, Road Range and Enza, have admitted infringing competition law and agreed to pay fines totalling £2.6 million. Another dealer, Northside, will benefit from the leniency policy that encourages whistle-blowing without which cartels would be difficult to detect. The infringements involve classic cartel activity: market sharing, price coordination and exchange of commercially sensitive information, not necessarily all at the same time. However, there is no mention of criminal charges, which are a possibility where cartels are involved: a Mercedes executive was arrested when the investigation into the cartel was started, but never charged (see earlier post here).
You can read the full press release issued by the OFT here.
You can read the full press release issued by the OFT here.
No comments:
Post a Comment