Breaking competition law can happen in different ways
but some of the most serious ones are also the least
understood
Fair competition is fundamental for a progressive, innovative
economy. Where businesses try to avoid competing with each other,
they undermine this principle with harmful consequences. The
founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, spoke of collusion as a
'conspiracy against the public'. To put it in even more
frank language, we see it as ripping people off.
Business cartels can include activity such as price fixing,
market sharing or bid-rigging but many still don't recognise
how little it takes to end up involved in these practices. What all
business cartels have in common is a culture where an opportunistic
disregard for fairness in the pursuit of profit prevails. Gordon
Gekko famously said 'Greed is Good'. Ultimately, cartels
are fuelled by greed and are a form of cheating by manipulating the
odds: they deprive customers of a fair deal,
