Category: cartels

COMESA foreshadows first substantive sector study, potential cartel enforcement

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Retail antitrust: “mushrooming” shopping malls vs. SMEs, and possible cartel follow-on enforcement on the horizon for CCC

As reported in the Swazi Observer and other news outlets, the COMESA Competition Commission (“CCC”) recently expressed an interest in investigating the effect that larger shopping malls have had on competition in the common market’s retail sector.

This is one of the first non-M&A investigations undertaken by the CCC, according to a review of public sources.  While observers in the competition-law community have witnessed several merger notifications (and clearances) under COMESA jurisdiction, there has been no conduct enforcement by the young CCC to speak of.  Indeed, CCC executive director George Lipimile stated at a conference in November 2014: “Since we commenced operations in January, 2013 the most active provisions of the Regulations has been the merger control provisions.”  Andreas Stargard, an attorney with the boutique Africa consultancy Pr1merio, notes:

“Looking at the relative absence of enforcement against non-merger conduct (such as monopolisation, unilateral exclusionary practices, cartels, information exchanges among competitors or other conduct investigations), this new ‘shopping mall sectoral inquiry‘ may thus mark the first time the CCC has become active in the non-merger arena — a development worth following closely.  Moreover, the head of the CCC also announced future enforcement action against cartels, albeit only those previously uncovered in other jurisdictions such as South Africa, it appears from his prepared remarks.”

The CCC’s interest in the mall sector was revealed during one of the agency’s “regional sensitisation workshops” for business journalists (AAT previously reported on one of them here).  At the event, Lipimile is quoted as follows:

“The little shops in the locations seem to be slowly disappearing because everybody is going into shopping malls. And these shopping malls and the shops in them are mostly owned by foreigners.”

The investigation will take a sampling from the economies of several of the 19 COMESA member states and attempt to determine whether the “mushrooming” growth of shopping malls negatively affects local small and medium enterprises in the whole common market.

Rajeev Hasnah, a Pr1merio consultant, former Commissioner of the CCC and previously Chief Economist & Deputy Executive Director of the Competition Commission of Mauritius, commented that,

“Conducting market studies is one of the functions of the CCC and it is indeed commendable that the institution would contemplate on conducting such a study in the development of shopping malls across the COMESA region.  I believe that this will then enable the institution to correctly identify and appreciate the competition dynamics in the operations of shopping malls and the impact they have on the economy in general.  The study should also identify whether there are areas of concerns where the CCC could initiate investigations to enable competition to flourish to the benefit of businesses, consumers and the economy in general.  We look forward to the undertaking of such a study and its findings.”

AAT agrees with this view and welcomes the notion of the CCC commencing substantive non-merger investigations.  We observe, however, that the initial reported statements on the part of the CCC tend to show that there is the potential for dangerous local protectionist motives to enter into the legal competition analysis.  As Mr. Lipimile stated at the conference:

“Though [the building of malls] might be seen as a good thing, it may negatively impact on our local entrepreneurship and might lead to poverty. Before shopping malls were built, local entrepreneurs realised sales from their products.  Now malls are taking over. … [A] strong competition policy can be an effective tool to promote social inclusion and reduce inequalities as it tends to open up more affordable options for consumers, acting as an automatic stabiliser for prices”

That said, Mr. Lipimile also stated at the same event, quite astutely, that a “solid competition framework provides a catalyst to increase productivity as it generates the right incentives to attract the most efficient firms.”  In the rational view of antitrust law & economics, if — after an objective review such as the study announced by the CCC — the “most efficient” firm happens to be a larger shopping mall that does not otherwise foreclose equally effective competition, then the Darwinian survival of the fittest in a market economy must not be impeded by regulatory intervention.

George Lipimile, CEO, COMESA Competition Commission
George Lipimile, CEO, COMESA Competition Commission

Mr. Lipimile himself seemed to agree in November 2014, when he said that the 19-member COMESA jurisdiction must have regard to “its trading partners [which] go beyond the Common Market hence, it requires consensus building and a balancing act.”  At this time, “when regional integration is occupying the centre stage as one of the key economic strategies and a rallying point for the development of the African continent,” domestic protectionist strategies have no place in antitrust & competition law.  Said Mr. Lipimile: “[R]egional integration can only be realized by supporting a strong competition culture in the Common Market,” which would not support a more reactionary, closed tactic of a regulatory propping-up of “domestic champions” versus more efficient foreign competition.  As the CCC head recognised, “[t]he purpose of competition law is to facilitate competitive markets, so as to promote economic efficiency, thereby generate lower prices, increase choice and economic growth and thus enhance the welfare of the general community.”

Second domino falls in SA liner-shipping cartel investigation

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The M/V Thalatta, a WWL High Efficiency RoRo vessel
The M/V Thalatta, a WWL High Efficiency RoRo vessel (image (c) WWL)

WWL settles collusion allegations in South Africa for US $7,500,000

As we reported on 2 July 2015 (see “Shipping Cartel Update: NYK settles in South Africa“), the South African competition-law enforcers have had success in bringing members of the acknowledged international liner-shipping cartel to the settlement table, extracting R104 million (approximately $8,600,000) from NYK.

Now, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (“WWL”) has become the second investigated party to enter into a settlement agreement with the South African Competition Commission (“SACC”) — presumptively for a decent discount off the maximum possible fine, as outlined in greater detail below.

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On 30 July 2015, it was announced that WWL settled the SACC’s charges stemming from the investigation into the seven shipping companies for fixing prices, allocating markets and collusive tendering.

SACC found that WWL colluded on 11 tenders with its competitors in the transportation of motor vehicles by sea issued by several automotive manufacturers to and from South Africa.

WWL — a 50/50 Swedish/Norwegian liner-shipping conglomerate, which has had a representative office in South Africa since 2013 and previously had “a major Turn Key Project for a copper mine in Zambia, … creating a sub-Saharan hub for moving Breakbulk into and out of Africa” — settled for an amount of R95 million.  As Andreas Stargard, an attorney with the Africa advisory boutique Pr1merio, notes:

“This amount — in today’s dollar terms only about $7,500,000 — is a mere 0.25% of WWL’s global turnover of about $2.9 billion.  In other words, the company got away with only a tiny fraction [namely 2.5%] of the potential maximum fine, which under South African law would have been capped at $290 million or 10% of total group revenue.”

The SACC found that NYK colluded on 14 tenders with its competitors for the transportation of motor vehicles by sea issued by several automotive manufacturers to and from South Africa, including BMW, Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan, and Honda among others.

The agency filed the WWL settlement agreement with the South African Competition Tribunal on 30 July 2015 for confirmation as an order of the Tribunal.

WWL’s Africa Ties

What is of particular note in the WWL matter is the company’s business commitment to the African continent.  As Mr. Stargard points out, WWL recently published a document entitled, “West Africa – The frontier of opportunity?” in which it states:

The outlook for Africa has long been seen as one of great promise, but with major challenges attached. It certainly is a place of great dimensions and great opportunities, but with immense development needs and complexities to be tackled. According to African Economic Outlook, a recent report published jointly by the OECD, the African Development Bank and the UN Development Program, Africa’s economic growth will gain momentum and reach 4.5 per cent in 2015 and 5 per cent in 2016.  

The world’s attention to Africa has largely been directed towards West Africa in the last few years, as some of the fastest growing economies were to be found there, as well as some of the world’s richest resource bases from oil to rare earth minerals. As of late, the shine has come off a little bit, with West African economies struggling with lower oil income, weakening currencies as well as a lack of economical and societal reform. The Ebola epidemic on top of this effectively served to slow the West African growth somewhat. The region is nevertheless expected to stage a recovery from the Ebola epidemic with 5 per cent growth in 2015.

West African growth is largely driven by the development in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. Despite the large oil revenue dependency (which naturally is hurting from the recent decline in oil prices), the country has started diversifying its economic base. In the automotive industry, several OEMs have opened assembly plants for complete knock-downs, boosted by the increased import tax for finished vehicles. The slow process towards building more advanced manufacturing capabilities continues, but still remains some way off. 

Other economies in the region are smaller and even more dependent on resource exports. A few have been seeing quite positive development, like Ghana, but we still find some of Africa’s poorest countries in this region, highlighting the large contrasts to be found there. 

Trade patterns for vehicles and heavy equipment are, not surprisingly, dominated by imports, with Europe and Asia being the largest regional trade partners. 

In 2014, the single largest country exporting vehicles and heavy equipment to West Africa was the US followed by China, Japan and Germany. This illustrates the diverse geographical trade interests in the region. Trade has been developing strongly after the crisis, but has weakened over the past couple of years.

Long term, given its population and resource base, West Africa remains sure to be on everyone’s target list when it comes to capturing African opportunities.

Shipping Cartel Update: NYK settles in South Africa

Posted on by andreasstargard

south_africa

NYK Agrees To Pay R104 Million In Settlement Agreement

On 1 June 2015, it was announced that Japanese Shipping liner, NYK, had concluded a settlement agreement with the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) in the amount of R104 million (approximately $8 600 000), for contravening Sections 4(1)(b)(i),(ii) and (iii) of the Competition Act (“Competition Act”), 89 of 1998.

The listed sections relate to collusive conduct, including:

  • directly or indirectly fixing a purchase price or other trading condition;
  • dividing markets by allocating customers, suppliers or territorial or specific types of goods or services; and/or
  • collusive tendering.

The settlement follows an investigation by the Commission into the collusive behaviour of a number of shipping liners, namely Mitsui O.S.K Lines; Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd; Compania Sud Americana de Vapores; Hoegh Autoliners Holdings AS; Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics; Eukor Car Carriers; and NYK, in relation to allegedly fixed prices, divided markets and tendering collusively in respect of the provision of deep sea transportation services.

In terms of Competition Act, a settlement agreement must be made an order by the South African Competition Tribunal. The Order will of course also be made public.

It will be interesting to note that the new guidelines recently adopted by the Competition Commission, on the Calculation of Administrative Penalties is still relatively novel, and it will be interesting to see how and to what extent the Commission followed the Guidelines in reaching the settlement quantum.  As AAT has written previously on the topic:

The Guidelines set out a six step process to be used by the SACC  to calculate administrative penalties. The six steps are summarised below:

  1. An affected turnover in the base year is calculated;
  2. the base amount is a proportion of the affected turnover ranging from 0-30% depending on the type of infringement (the higher end of the scale being reserved for the more serious types of prohibited conduct such as collusion or price fixing);
  3. the amount obtained in step 2 is then multiplied by the number of years that the contravention took place;
  4. the amount in step 3 is then rounded off in terms of Section 59(20 of the Act which is limited to 10% of the firms turnover derived from or within South Africa;
  5. the amount in step 4 can be adjusted upwards or downwards depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances; and
  6. the amount should again be rounded down in accordance with Section 59(2) of the Act if the sum exceeds the statutory limit.

It is important to note in the case of bid-rigging or collusive tendering, the affected turnover will be determined by calculating the value of the tender awarded. Thus, even where a firm deliberately ‘loses’ a tender, the firm will be subjected to an administrative penalty which calculates the value of the tender in the hands of the firm who ‘won’ the tender.

Banks in hot $$$: Another regulator investigates currency manipulation

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south_africa

Banks in hot $$$: Another regulator investigates currency manipulation

The South African Competition Commission (“SACC”) has recently commenced an investigation into several banks and financial institutions for allegedly price-fixing in relation to the ‘Bid and Ask’ amounts, and consequently the ‘Bid-Ask spreads’, which the institutions allegedly make available make available for foreign exchange currency trading derivatives; specifically: Spot Trades; Forwards and Futures.

The SACC stated that the banks and financial institutions named, BNP Paribas SA, Barclays Plc’s African operations, JP Morgan South Africa, Investec and a unit of Standard Chartered Plc provided, have allegedly colluded to synchronize trades when quoting prices to customers seeking to buy or sell foreign currencies through the use of electronic messaging software utilized for currency trading.

The SACC investigation currently relates only to currency exchange trades involving South African Rand (ZAR). the SACC alleges that the conduct has the consequence of devaluing the ZAR with the following concomitant effects:

  • Foreign currencies exciting the country;
  • Local inflation in South Africa increasing as the cost of foreign imports into the Republic of South Africa increases e.g., oil; raw materials; steel etc.

Competition Commission of Mauritius Launches Investigation into Cross-Border Money Transfers

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On 06 May 2015, the Competition Commission of Mauritius (“CCM”) identified the potential restrictive business practice which may exist between The Western Union Company (“Western Union”) and MoneyGram International Inc (“MoneyGram”) as a result of exclusive agreements (“Agreements”) put in place between the two companies.

The Agreements are purportedly entered into separately between the two companies and certain agents, which in turn, potentially prohibit the Agents from supplying competing services to their clients (the Agreements are not entered into between the two firms themselves, and thus do not constitute horizontal agreements) . These Agreements could have the further anti-competitive effect of creating a barrier to entry and possible foreclosure effects.

The CCM has indicated that they have not reached a conclusion yet as to whether these Agreements are in fact anti-competitive. It will also have to be seen whether there are any efficiency arguments would could possible justify such an exclusionary act (if the conduct does in fact breach any provision of the Competition Act, 2007 (the “Act”)).

As far as potential remedies are concerned, the conduct mentioned above could potentially fall under one of two main categories. The CCM could either view the Agreements as constituting “Other restrictive agreements” and/or “Monopoly situations” in terms of Section 45 or 46 of the Act, respectively.

A monopoly will be deemed to exist, in terms of the Act, if one enterprise provides at least 30% of the goods or services on the relevant market or, 70% of the goods or services on the relevant market are provided by 3 or fewer enterprises.

A monopoly situation may be subject to review if the CCM has reasonable grounds to believe that the enterprise(s) are engaging in conduct which: “Has the object or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition; or In any other way constitutes exploitation of the monopoly situation.”

As far for the possible penalties and/or remedies that may be imposed for breaching either Section 45 or 46, no financial penalties may be imposed by the CCM for violations of these two sections. Thus, in terms of the Act, the only type of vertical conduct which could lead to a financial penalty being imposed, is what is commonly known as ‘minimum price resale maintenance’. Thus, unlike many other African countries such as South Africa, a company who abuses its dominant position will not be exposed to financial liability, despite such conduct having substantial anti-competitive effects (provided such a company does not engage in horizontal agreements, bid-rigging or collusion or minimum resale agreements).

An infringement relating to Section 45 or 46 could only result in the CCM issuing directives, which have as their purpose, the objective of restoring competition in the market, and are not to be seen as being punitive in nature.

Government-mandated sharing of trade secrets: anticompetitive interference

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Ms. Zulu proposes foreign competitors share trade secrets with SA counterparts

Perhaps it is time for increased advocacy initiatives within the South African government, or at a minimum a basic educational program in competition law for all its sitting ministers.
In what can only be described as startling (and likely positively anticompetitive), Lindiwe Zulu, the S.A. Minister of Small Business, has demanded foreign business owners to reveal their trade secrets to their smaller rivals.
The South African Competition Commission, and perhaps one of the Minister’s own fellow Cabinet members, minister Ebrahim Patel, who is de facto in charge of the competition authorities, can see fit to remind Ms. Zulu that fundamental antitrust law principles (and in particular section 4 of the South African Competition Act), preclude firms in a horizontal relationship from sharing trade secrets that are competitively sensitive – i.e., precisely those types of information Ms. Zulu now proposes to be shared mandatorily amongst competitors.
While SACC has utilized this provision with much success against big business in South Africa, it would be remiss not enforce the provisions of the Act without fear or favor should the traders act out on the instruction of the Minister.  It is also time that the Cabinet seeks to enforce business practices which comply with South African legislation.
BDLive‘s Khulekani Magubane reports in today’s edition (“Reveal trade secrets, minister tells foreigners“) that “foreign business owners in SA’s townships cannot expect to co-exist peacefully with local business owners unless they share their trade secrets, says Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.”

Lindiwe Zulu. Picture: PUXLEY MAKGATHO

Lindiwe Zulu. Picture: PUXLEY MAKGATHO

“In an interview on Monday she said foreign business owners had an advantage over South African business owners in townships. This was because local business owners had been marginalised and been offered poor education and a lack of opportunities under apartheid.

“Foreigners need to understand that they are here as a courtesy and our priority is to the people of this country first and foremost. A platform is needed for business owners to communicate and share ideas. They cannot barricade themselves in and not share their practices with local business owners,” Ms Zulu said.”

Research fellow at the SA Institute for International Affairs Peter Draper said Ms Zulu’s remarks, underscored government’s mistrust of foreign investors which was also reflected in business regulations. “If you connect this to the broader picture, essentially this is part of a thrust to single out foreign business, which is contrary to the political message President Jacob Zuma went to portray in Davos. We are at a tipping point and we are going beyond it. You can only push foreign business so far before they disengage,” he said.Mr Draper agreed with Ms Zulu’s remarks on the effect of apartheid on local business owners in townships but said foreign business owners had to confront their own challenges with little state support.

“Apartheid did disadvantage black people and over generations it inhibited social capital. Many foreigners have trading entrenched in their blood. Wherever they go they bring social capital, networks and extended family. Is that unfair? I don’t think so. That’s life,” he said.

Ms Zulu’s comments show the about-turn in the African National Congress’ (ANC’s) ideology of Pan Africanism and in line with remarks by party leaders.

After a week of looting in Soweto last week, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told residents in Doornkop that immigration laws needed to be strengthened to protect the country from terror.

Pistorius family embroiled in Ag price-fixing cartel

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The Pistoriuses refuse to stay out of the media (Ag-)limelight

Starting in late 2009, the South African Competition Commission had suspected cartel activity in the Agricultural Lime (“AgLime”) industry.  Notably, one of the participants in the alleged price-fixing scheme was the Hendrik Pistorius Trust and its Pistorius-family trustee members, all of whom are respondents (defendants) in the action now referred by the CompComm to the S.A. Competition Tribunal (official referral document here).

The connection of this antitrust case with now-infamous Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius is obviously only a family link (based on some quick research, it seems as though one of Oscar’s cousins is involved, namely Arnoldus Pistorius, the son of yet another respondent, Leo Pistorius who is apparently known as an elephant hunter).

It is interesting to note that the Commission requests a 10% penalty, however, they do not explicitly state that it is for the period of the contravention (page 10).

On 16 January 2015, the South African Competition Commission filed a complaint against Hendrik Wilhelm Carl Pistorius N.O., Leo Constantin Pistorius N.O., Hermine Pistorius N.O., Arnoldus Kurt Pistorius,  Kalkor (Pty) Ltd, CHL Taljaard & Son (Pty) Ltd, PBD Boerdedienste (Pty) Ltd, Grasland Ondernemings (Pty) Ltd and Fertiliser Society of South Africa.

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The Commission alleges that the respondents were engaged in a prohibited practice from 1995 until 2008, by agreeing or entering into a concerted practice to fix the commissions payable by each of them to fertiliser companies who employ agents to market, sell and distribute agricultural lime, which is crushed / pulverised limestone or dolomite used for soil treatment in order to reduce the acidity of the soil.  This alleged practice is in contravention of section 4(1)(b)(i) of the South African Competition Act, which provides the following:

“An agreement between, or concerted practice by, firms, or a decision by an association of firms, is prohibited if it is between parties in a horizontal relationship and if –

(a) it has the effect of substantially preventing, or lessening, competition in a market, unless a party to the agreement, concerted practice, or decision can prove that any technological, efficiency or other pro-competitive gain resulting from it outweighs that effect; or

(b) it involves any of the following restrictive horizontal practices:

(i) directly or indirectly fixing a purchase or selling price or any other trading condition;

(ii) dividing markets by allocating customers, suppliers, territories, or specific types of goods or services; or

(iii) collusive tendering.”

 

South Africa- Competition Commission conducts third dawn raid this year

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Ending off a year of numerous dawn raids, the Commission announced yesterday in a press statement that it had conducted a search and seizure / dawn raid operation at the offices of InvestChem (Pty) Ltd (“InvestChem”) and Akulu Marchon (Pty) Ltd (“Akulu Marchon”) in Kempton Park, Johannesburg. The firms manufacture and supply a range of surfactant products. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, dishwashing liquids, soaps, car cleaning products and dispersants.
InvestChem is the South African subsidiary of Inchem Holdings Ltd, which is a Bermuda-based company which has other subsidiaries based in the USA and Portugal. InvestChem develops, manufactures and supplies a range of surfactant products which are used in the detergent and toiletry industries.
Akulu Marchon, which is one of the businesses of AECI Chemicals, supplies chemical raw materials for cosmetics, toiletry and detergent products in Southern Africa. These products include petroleum jelly and white mineral oils for the South African ethnic skin and hair care markets, locally produced and imported specialty surfactants for household, personal care products and chemical specialties for the personal care and cosmetic industries.
The Commission indicated that the dawn raid formed part of the Commission’s ongoing investigation into collusive conduct in the market for the production and supply of a range of surfactants products used as input materials in the manufacture of blended household detergents, cosmetics and toiletry products.
According to the Commission, from 2003, the parties held meetings and agreed to fix the prices for surfactants and allocated customers between each other which is prohibited by the South African Competition Act and the Commission understands the alleged conduct is currently ongoing.
The Commissioner, Tembinkosi Bonakele stated the following in relation to the dawn raid, “I believe that the information that will be obtained from today’s operation will enable the Commission to determine whether or not the parties have indeed engaged in collusive conduct. However, as part of any investigation, we also wish to urge anyone, be it business or individuals with further information to come forward and assist the Commission in concluding this investigation”.
Following a four year dawn raid “drought”, the Commission had conducted a dawn raid in July 2014 at the offices of Precision and Sons (“Precision”), Eldan Auto Body (“Eldan”) in Pretoria West, as well as the Vehicle Accident Assessment Centre (“VAAC”) in Centurion. Precision and Eldan’s business activities include panel beating, spray painting and towing of vehicles and they are approved auto body repairers to Original Equipment Manufacturers. In April 2014, the Commission conducted a dawn raid at the offices of Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Sime Darby’s respective South African offices, in relation to the Commission’s investigation into alleged collusive conduct in the product markets for the manufacture and supply of edible oils and baking fats to both wholesale and retail customers.

(Belated?) auto-parts cartel allegations sweep S. Africa

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Following late on the heels of years-old international auto-parts collusion investigations, ZA Competition Commission issues press release

In its press release, the Commission quotes Thembinkosi Bonakele as saying that his agency’s “investigation into this pervasive collusive conduct joins similar investigations launched in other jurisdictions internationally” and states:

The information in the possession of the Commission suggests that from 2000 to
date, 82 automotive component manufacturers have colluded in respect of 121
automotive components. The 121 automotive components affected by the collusion
include, but not limited to, Inverters, Electric Power Steering ECU, Electric Power
Steering and Motors, Glow Plugs, Electric Power Steering systems, Rear
Sunshades, Pressure Regulator, Pulsation Damper, Purge Control Valves,
Accelerator Pedal Modules, Power Management Controller, Evaporative Fuel
Canister systems, Knock Sensors, Spark Plugs and Clearance Sonar systems.

Kenya competition landscape active

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Zuku pay-TV launched complaint against DStv in Kenya

As we reported in “Your Choice“, MultiChoice has been an active (if unwilling) player in African antitrust news.  Zuku pay-TV has recently requested the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to impose a financial penalty on DStv for refusing to re-sell some of its exclusive content like the English Premier League to its rivals.

In its letter to the CAK, Zuku pay-TV accuses MultiChoice, the owners of DStv, of abusing its dominance and curbing the growth of other, competing pay-TV operators. Furthermore, Zuku pay-TV requested the CAK to compel DStv to re-sell some of its exclusive content and impose a financial penalty, which can be up to 10 per cent of a firm’s annual sales, on the South Africa firm. According to Zuku pay-TV, DStv has a market share of 95% in Kenya.

The CAK has not indicated whether it is investigating the complaint yet.

Mr Wang’ombe Kariuki, director of the CAK
Kenya to get leniency policy

In addition to the ongoing pay-TV antitrust dispute, the CAK has drafted a law (the Finance Bill of 2014) which will create a Kenyan cartel leniency programme in order for whistleblower companies and their directors to get off with lighter punishment, for volunteering information that helps to break up cartels, as AAT reported here.

To recap the leniency programme will either grant full immunity for applicants or reduce the applicant’s fines, depending on the circumstances. The Finance Act 2014 is awaiting its third reading in Parliament.

The introduction of a leniency programme in Kenya is a pleasing sight due to leniency programmes’ proving to be an integral and vital tool for uncovering cartels in every jurisdiction in which it has been deployed.