The competition regulator has launched an internal investigation into claims that one of its directors pressured a whistleblower to retract allegations of misconduct at its open banking unit.
Bill Roberts, an assistant director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is alleged to have called a whistleblower from his private phone in June 2019 and urged them to reconsider their complaint, adding that he was “good friends” with senior leaders at the Open Banking Implementation Entity (Obie).
Mr Roberts then shared the identity of the whistleblower with Imran Gulamhuseinwala, the chairman of Obie at the time, and Ed Colley, the unit’s programme director, according to documents seen by The Telegraph.
The claims will pile significant pressure on the watchdog and raise serious questions about its handling of misconduct at Obie, which was set up in 2016 in a state-backed effort to increase competition in the banking sector and falls under the purview of the CMA.
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Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, is already under fire from ministers who regard him as an impediment to post-Brexit economic reforms.
The regulator was informed of the alleged gagging attempt more than two years ago but only launched an inquiry into the complaint this week. Mr Roberts was head of open banking at the CMA at the time of the incident, a position he held until October.
A spokesman for the CMA said: “We are aware of these allegations and they are being thoroughly...
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