Leniency Programme
A CMA programme offering immunity or reduced penalties to cartel participants who report infringements and cooperate with investigations. First applicant with evidence may receive full immunity from fines.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
The CMA's leniency programme helps it detect and act against cartels by encouraging participants to come forward. There are different types of leniency available, and which type applies generally depends on whether other individuals or businesses involved in the cartel have already applied, whether the CMA is already investigating the cartel, and whether the applicant is applying as a business or as an individual.
Cartels are illegal, and the consequences for those caught are serious: businesses can be fined and barred from public sector contracts, directors can be disqualified, and individuals can be criminally convicted. The leniency programme is designed to make it rational for participants to defect from a cartel by offering the first applicant, ahead of any CMA investigation, guaranteed immunity from all of these consequences.
The programme also has an outward-facing complement: someone who is not involved in a cartel but knows about one can report it to the CMA and potentially receive a reward of up to £250,000 for information that leads to an investigation, reinforcing the leniency programme's core purpose of detecting cartel activity that would otherwise remain hidden.
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Official sources
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