The Enterprise Act 2002 created new criminal offences relating to illegal price fixing and anti-competitive agreements. It made operating a cartel a criminal offence. The new cartel offences cover a wide range of practices including bid-rigging agreements, carving up markets between parties, limiting or preventing the supply of a product amongst others.
The nature of this work often means work spans international boundaries and becomes multi-jurisdictional. An understanding of this is paramount to defending these actions. At Stephensons we have the advantage of being a very broad based firm and can draw on the skills of solicitors from different legal specialisms to put together the appropriate team for your case. In cartel and price fixing matters the assistance of the civil litigation and commercial departments are invaluable.
Investigations of this nature are often brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) or the Serious Fraud Offie (SFO), our specialist solicitors know how to deal with the OFT and the SFO and understand their mindset. With this knowledge we are able to contest issues that arise where appropriate.
Our aim is to protect and preserve our clients’ interests at all stages of any investigation. We are able to deal with the large volume of paperwork that is often created in the investigations and have the ability to analyse the relevant data quickly and efficiently.
It is essential that legal advice is obtained as early as possible. If convicted of offences of this nature the penalties can be severe including imprisonment for up to 5 years. You may also be fined and become the subject of a confiscation order. We understand the need for discretion in this highly sensitive area and understand that business and individual reputations are at stake, contact us on 01942 774161 or complete our online enquiry form.
