Directors suspended for taking part in secret cartel

Two directors have been disqualified after the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) found them guilty of participating in a secret cartel.

The move follows the CMA’s statement of objections issued on 13 December 2018, alleging that 3 suppliers of pre-cast concrete drainage products – CPM Group Ltd (CPM), Stanton Bonna Ltd, and FP McCann Ltd – breached competition law by taking part in a secret cartel for almost 7 years from 2006.

The CMA has provisionally found that the cartel aimed to fix or coordinate prices and share out the market for certain pre-cast concrete drainage products in Great Britain.

As part of a settlement process, CPM and Stanton Bonna Ltd admitted to participating in the alleged cartel and have agreed to pay fines, which will be determined at the end of the CMA’s investigation.

The CMA’s investigation into a third company which has not entered into settlement, FP McCann Ltd, continues and no assumption should be made that it has infringed the law.

Mr Philip Michael Stacey and Mr Robert James Taylor Smillie were directors at CPM throughout the period of the alleged cartel activity, during which time the company was one of the leading players in the market.

The CMA has secured legally binding undertakings from these former directors, which disqualify them as directors and prevent them from being involved in the management of any company based in England, Scotland and Wales.

Mr Stacey has been disqualified for 7 years and 6 months, and Mr Smillie has been disqualified for 6 years and 6 months.

Investigations are ongoing with respect to other directors and FP McCann Ltd.

Please contact Sarah Liddiard if you would like more information on the issues raised in this article, or any aspect of competition law.