Govt offers rewards for cartel whistleblowers

LONDON (Reuters) - The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said on Friday it would offer rewards of up to 100,000 pounds for information which helps to identify and take action against illegal cartels.

"Cartels are a particularly damaging form of anti-competitive behaviour and taking action against them is one of the OFT's priorities," said the government consumer and competition watchdog.

The OFT wants to crack down on businesses which illegally agree to fix prices and share markets.

Cartels are not just the preserve of big business and are often hard to detect, the OFT said.

"Cartels are very damaging both to businesses and consumers and they are usually conducted in secret making them hard to detect," said Simon Williams, OFT Senior Director of Cartels and Criminal Enforcement.

In exceptional circumstances the OFT will pay a reward of up to 100,000 pounds. The policy will run for a trial period of 18 months.

Any business found to be a member of a cartel can be fined up to 10 percent of its turnover and any individual convicted of the offence can receive a maximum of five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

The OFT said anyone with information about cartels can call its hotline on 0800 085 1664 or e-mail cartelshotline@oft.gsi.gov.uk.

($1=.5045 Pound)