Latam: Competition Authorities join in support of leniency programs

The competition authorities of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru have signed a joint letter, agreeing to uphold the importance of their so-called “Leniency” programs in the fight against corporate cartels.

“The new Law on the Defense of Competition, which was enacted in May of this year, introduced new tools that were not available until then and that have been proven internationally to be the most effective in the fight against cartels, among them, the leniency program” said the head of the Argentine National Commission for the Defense of Competition, Esteban Greco.

The “leniency programs” encourage companies or individuals to come forward to the competition authority with the possibility of full exoneration or reduction of sanctions in exchange for providing evidence that can help prove the existence of anti-competitive agreements.

The declaration, which follows the best practices presented by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was signed by the Argentine National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC), the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) of Brazil, the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) of Chile, the Federal Commission of Economic Competition (COFECE) of Mexico, and the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Property (INDECOPI) of Peru.