The end of leniency programs in the Andean Region?

By Carlos Mena-Labarthe, Jaime Barahona U, Vinicius Marques de Carvalho and Eduardo Frade¹

April 23, 2018 may mark the end of an era for leniency programs in the Andean region. Even more, the date may herald an insurmountable harm to the leniency programs of the whole of Latin America and the world. Media reports indicate that the Andean Council for Competition, together with the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCAN) are considering a recommendation by SGCAN staff to fine companies allegedly involved in a cartel the statutory maximum for conduct that was first detected and self-reported to the Colombian and the Ecuadorian competition authorities by the same companies which had cooperated voluntarily with the investigation and applied for the leniency program.

The tissue paper cases in Colombia and Peru have been highlighted as landmark cases that have put the authorities in those jurisdictions in the national — as well as the international — spotlight, sending the strong message that these authorities are fighting cartels and that their leniency programs are functioning effectively.

Kimberly Clark (“KC”) was the first company to ever earn full immunity in Colombia as well as in Peru, helping the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (“SIC”) and the Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual (“INDECOPI”) secure historic fines against soft paper producers. Kimberly Clark also cooperated fully