Businesses warned of ‘dawn raids’

BUSINESSES suspected of flouting competition laws were yesterday warned of an expected surge in dawn raids by authorities over the coming months.

A legal expert said wide-ranging powers to search premises and even workers’ homes dramatically heightened the stakes for cartels.

Paku Khan, a competition law specialist at A&L Goodbody, cautioned that an increase in Competition Authority raids could now be expected following several high-profile convictions.

“A dawn raid can be one of the most intrusive things to happen to a company, and everything, including personal records, paper documents, computers, emails, mobile phones and Blackberries, can be looked at by the regulators during a search,” he told a seminar in Dublin.

Ireland has more cartel convictions than any other country in Europe with anumber of cases in home heating oil and motor trade industries making the headlines recently.

Fines for breach of competition law can amount to up to 10% of global turnover and a recent fine imposed by the European Commission totalled almost €1 billion euro.

Guilty parties can also face imprisonment, private and stakeholder litigation and director disqualification.