UK construction sector gets off lightly
Despite rumours of a £200 million fine for the UK construction sector after a cartel investigation confirmed widespread illegal activity within the industry, many believe that the UK construction industry has got off lightly with a cumulative £129.5 million fine. The fact that over 100 companies were allegedly involved in the cartel lays bare the problem which the authorities had in trying to stamp out this widespread abuse and even confirming its existence.
Only 24 hours ago, as we mentioned in one of our earlier post, the authorities had been looking towards a £200 million fine although for whatever reason this was significantly reduced to the level announced today. Despite the fact that literally hundreds of millions of pounds were involved in this particular cartel it would appear that the construction industry is now "off the hook" despite the fact that UK taxpayers look to have been the major losers in the saga.
There are also rumours of a European cartel in the construction industry and a report by the EU has been suppressed by the UK authorities until at least 2010. If this does prove to be correct then we are looking at widespread abuse on an enormous scale!
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