OFT to Offer up to £100,000 to Cartel Whistleblowers
03/05/2008The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced on 29 February 2008 that it is launching a trial policy under which it will pay cartel whistleblowers a financial reward of up to £100,000. The financial incentive scheme represents the OFT’s latest effort to increase its cartel enforcement. (HM Revenue & Customs recently implemented a similar programme which it has reported as being successful.)
The reward scheme will be available to individuals and companies (including competitors and customers). Rewards will only be paid in return for information which helps the OFT to identify and take action against illegal cartels. The exact amount of the reward will depend on the value of the information, the seriousness of the cartel, and the effort and risk undertaken by the whistleblower to provide the information. The policy differs from the OFT’s leniency programme, which offers potential civil and criminal immunity to whistleblowers who have been directly involved in a cartel.
The reward scheme will run alongside the OFT’s leniency programme for a period of 18 months, after which a decision will to be taken as to whether to make the arrangement permanent.
