The newly established Competition and Markets Authority [formed in April 2014 from the Office of Fair Trading and Competition Commission] yesterday lost a cartel case against two businessmen.
Nicholas Stringer, a former managing director at Galglass, and Clive Dean, of Kondea, were cleared of fixing the price of liquid storage tanks over a seven-year period by a jury at Southwark Crown Court.
A third defendant, Peter Snee, had already pleaded guilty. He was most recently managing director at Franklin Hodge, a liquid storage tank manufacturer based in Hereford. All the companies involved supplied a range of storage tanks to various companies and entities across the UK.
The case was brought under previous legislation, which applies to offences taking place before April 2014. As such, the CMA were required to prove dishonesty. Under the new law, that is no longer required.
