WASHINGTON, DC, July 25, 2017: The first half of 2017 brought new trends in enforcement and notable criminal cases, as well as key policy and judicial developments and leadership changes at the US Department of Justice as discussed in Morgan Lewis’s 2017 Mid-Year Global Cartel Enforcement Report.
Produced by the firm’s leading antitrust and competition practice, the comprehensive, semiannual analysis of cartel enforcement and civil litigation conducted by competition agencies across the globe examines trends in compliance programs and corporate criminal liability.
As highlighted in the report, global cartel fines stood at $1.2 billion, a significant decrease from 2016. Large scale investigations remain active and the financial services, electronic components, pharmaceuticals, and shipping industries faced scrutiny from enforcement authorities across a number of jurisdictions worldwide. Several enforcement firsts also took place in the first six months of 2017, including in India, where the first leniency application was granted; as well as in the European Union, which saw its first whistleblower program. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority’s held its first antitrust dawn raid and the first proceedings were initiated before the Tribunal in Hong Kong, among other noteworthy precedents.