chem1st Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Repairs and construction group Kier has won an appeal to reduce a fine obtained after an investigation into cover pricing. The company was fined £17.9 million by the Office of Fair Trading in September 2009, but launched an appeal to reduce the fine. Last week, the Competition Appeal Tribunal reduced the fine to £1.7 million, after a court ruled the penalty ‘excessive’. Kier argued the watchdog failed to account for its low profit margins or early admission of bid rigging. The appeals court agreed. In a statement the company said: ‘Kier fully endorses competition law and, in 2007, began the implementation of a comprehensive compliance programme which has been firmly embedded throughout the business.’ Kier was one of 103 companies that were fined in September 2009 for bid-rigging on 199 tenders between 2000 and 2006. The companies ‘cover priced’, where firms submit false bids which force an artificially high price on clients. source Fines have been slashed all round! source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syne Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 It's not particularly well hidden. Blair was quite brazen about the 'cash for honours' and British Aerospace bribery scandals. Too often it seems that those who would or could do something about it are bribed or bullied into submission. Corruption is endemic in the political system so it's no surprise if Big Busness takes its cue from our supposed 'statesmen'. off topic but related, the reasons why are what really wind me up, 'we dare not arrest those with great power'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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