UK: CMA heads to court

The CMA, UK’s competition regulator will go to court this week for the first time since the botched prosecution of British Airways executives in 2010 reports the Financial Times.

“Those who are monitoring this area will be saying this is going to be one to watch,” said Andrij Jurkiw, the head of the competition team at the law firm Mishcon de Reya to the Financial Times. “There’s a huge amount riding on this case.”

The case is against Clive Dean and Nicholas Stringer for allegedly conspiring to rig bids and divide up customers for the UK supply of cylindrical galvanised steel tanks, which are used for water storage. The men, who were charged in June last year, are scheduled to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Mr Dean and Mr Stringer are charged with a single cartel offence relating to the companies Franklin Hodge Industries, Galglass, Kondea Water Supplies and CST Industries. The regulator is also pursuing a civil probe into whether the companies have infringed competition law.

Since the collapse of the BA trial, the law has been overhauled to make it easier for the CMA to prosecute such cases.

Full content: The Financial Times

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