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ARTICLE · 08 JULY 2011

Top Secret: How Confidential is Your Leniency Application?

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It may no longer be possible to protect leniency applications in cartel investigations from disclosure following recent case law both in the EU and the UK.

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Gillian Sproul
Gillian Sproul
Kiran Desai
Kiran Desai
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Originally published 6 July 2011

Keywords: leniency application, EU, UK, competition authorities, cartel cases, corporate statement

It may no longer be possible to protect leniency applications in cartel investigations from disclosure following recent case law both in the EU and the UK.

Leniency applications

The EU and UK competition authorities may grant a company immunity from fines, or a reduction in fines, in exchange for cooperation in investigations relating to cartel cases. Whether the company is granted full immunity, or a reduction in its fine, depends on the timing of the application and also the quality of the information and evidence provided by the leniency applicant.

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