Imagine a situation in which an individual, in the course of their employment, gains access to documents or communications indicating the existence of a cartel agreement between competing undertakings. Such a person may be a secretary responsible for arranging meetings, an employee coordinating the business travel of one of the cartel participants, an employee of a business association, an external consultant, or any other individual possessing direct or indirect evidence of coordinated conduct among competitors. Such evidence may relate, for example, to bid-rigging in public procurement procedures, the coordination of pricing strategies, or other forms of prohibited agreements.
The inherently secretive nature of cartels makes their detection exceptionally challenging. Competition authorities therefore rely on specialised enforcement instruments designed to increase the likelihood of obtaining insider information concerning anticompetitive conduct. In addition to leniency programmes targeting undertakings involved in cartel conduct, several jurisdictions have introduced financial reward models for individual whistleblowers.
This article focuses primarily on the financial reward schemes for cartel whistleblowers that have been introduced in selected European States, examining their legal frameworks, practical application, and the different approaches adopted by national competition authorities.
The Slovak Experience with Whistleblowers
Slovakia is one of the few...
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