Anti-trust office launches anonymous whistleblowing tool
The public and employees may now report suspected cartel agreements and other anti-competitive practices anonymously, as the Office for the Protection of Competition aims to strengthen the protection of economic competition.
The Office for the Protection of Competition has introduced a new anonymous reporting tool to help detect and investigate anti-competitive behaviour more effectively. The new tool allows to report suspected cartel agreements, abuse of dominant positions, and other anti-competitive practices in complete confidence, without having to disclose one’s identity.
Whistleblowers may make a report via a simple online form and attach documents or audio recordings to help in the investigation of their complaint. When doing so, whistleblower may choose to remain anonymous or fill in their contact details for further communication. If the first option is chosen, the anonymity of the whistleblower is protected throughout the communication.
If the whistleblower wishes to receive a reply, they can create a safe mailbox, which they can access using a system-generated number and password of their choice. These access details must be kept safe, as for security reasons and to protect whistleblower’s anonymity they cannot be renewed.
The new system extends the public’s opportunities to play an active role in protecting a fair economic environment. The office hopes to obtain valuable information leading to the detection of unlawful conduct, but also to speed up investigations and more effectively punish competitors who break the rules.
At the same time, the office points out that the tool is not intended for reporting deliberately false or misleading information, while quality and responsible reporting may have a major impact on maintaining a healthy and fair competitive environment.