On 9 September, the General Court upheld (not available in English) the fines imposed on Deltafina and Alliance One for their participation in the Italian raw tobacco cartel. Deltafina was the first applicant under the Commission's cartel leniency programme and was granted conditional immunity. However, it revealed to other cartel members, even before the Commission's dawn raids, that it had applied for leniency. The General Court held that the European Commission was correct in withdrawing immunity from Deltafina on the grounds that the company's conduct "did not demonstrate a genuine spirit of cooperation". It confirmed that immunity would be granted to cartel members only if their co-operation was "full, continuous and expeditious". However, although Deltafina was not eligible for complete immunity, the Court upheld the 50% reduction in its penalty granted by the Commission, reflecting its cooperation with the investigation.
The judgment emphasises the importance of maintaining complete confidentiality in relation to a leniency application. Any company contemplating an application must ensure that it does nothing to alert other cartel members about its intentions. This may necessitate careful discussions with the relevant competition authority in order to agree how to approach ongoing cartel meetings or communications. Care is also required to keep details of the application away from members of staff who might, whether inadvertently or intentionally, leak the news to their counterparts at other cartel members.
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