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UK: EC slams OFT for dropping ball on oil price-fixing probe

By  |  June 26, 2013

A higher-up in the European Commission has denounced the UK’s Office of Fair Trading for ending its investigation into the oil sector too soon. Reports say vice chair of the Commission’s monetary and economic affairs committee Arlene McCarthy criticized UK regulators for dropping the investigation without a close enough look into the market after receiving allegations of price-fixing. While McCarthy claimed the OFT simply “walked away” after just four months, the regulator defended itself saying that it did not receive “credible evidence” of oil price-fixing or reason to continue the probe. McCarthy is currently spearheading the Commission’s redrafting of its market abuse legislation.

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    Clarification: CPI would like to clarify that Ms. McCarthy is a member of the European Commission’s monetary and economic affairs committee and, in this story, stands as a representation of the European Commission. The European Commission has not, as a whole, denounced the OFT’s actions regarding its investigation into the oil industry.

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