Fines significantly down, several enforcement firsts and a strong pipeline of new, mainly domestic cartel cases around the world.
Global fines – significant decrease worldwide from 2016. Global cartel fines stood at $1.2 billion – this is on track to be significantly lower than 2016 (full year 2016: $7.8 billion). This trend appears to be cyclical and linked to the gradual winding down, particularly in the United States, of major international cartel investigations into, e.g., automotive parts.
The automotive parts investigation continues to be active with enforcement actions taken in 2017 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union (EU), South Korea, and the United States; and investigations are continuing in several jurisdictions. Similarly, in financial services, public and private enforcement actions against a range of international banks were taken in South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States. We also expect to see further enforcement in electronic components, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and shipping as well as in a number of domestic cartel investigations around the world, where there is a strong pipeline of cases launched or progressing in 2017.