header-logo header-logo

Competition authority raids: a new dawn?

176254
Dawn raids on modern workplaces are changing. Ludovica Pizzetti & William Radcliffe set out what businesses need to know
  • Sets out the latest trends in raids by competition authorities in different jurisdictions.
  • Explains how modern working practices affect liability for both companies and employees.

The scene of the crime. An FBI windbreaker, a door being broken down, a detective jaded by a broken system, shouting, ‘This is a raid!’ while furtive criminals rush to escape. Popular culture paints a vivid picture that springs to mind whenever discussing a ‘raid’. Though dawn raids by competition authorities lack such cinematic flair, they keep the drama. Even minor mistakes may snowball into significant fines.

Post-pandemic, dawn raids are back, and authorities around the world have not shied away from using their powers to the full extent.

Dawn raids continue to be daunting experiences: fast-moving and data-intensive processes that companies can never be sufficiently ready for, and where even the most trivial-seeming procedural irregularity carries a several-million-euro price tag, regardless of any underlying competition law breaches.

As history shows,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
back-to-top-scroll