• UOKiK conducted a search at Nesperta's offices - manufacturer and seller of SEMILAC nail polish
• This was connected to an ongoing price-fixing investigation

 In June, around a dozen employees of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), assisted by the police, entered the offices of Nesperta near Poznań. The search of the offices of the manufacturer of nail design products and accessories took place as part of an investigation.

- The material collected during the search in electronic and paper form has been analysed in detail for several weeks now. We are trying to establish whether there has been a collusion on prices in this case. At this stage, it is too early to talk about whether there will be specific charges - says the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Marek Niechciał.

The purpose of the search was to reveal and secure evidence of an illegal agreement between the producer and distributors, consisting of fixing set or minimum selling prices. This is a preliminary stage in the Office’s work and there are no proceedings being conducted against specific companies. 

A search at business premises is a tool used by UOKiK in situations where the Office suspects that there is evidence of a breach of competition law. It is conducted only after UOKiK has obtained consent of the court and usually with the assistance of the police. The entrepreneur is then obliged to let the inspectors into the buildings and premises and to make all documents and data carriers available.   

Participation in an agreement restricting competition is subject to a financial penalty of up to 10% of the entrepreneur's turnover. Managers responsible for the collusion may be fined up to PLN 2,000,000.

Leniency programme – gives entrepreneurs participating in an illegal agreement and managers responsible for a collusion a chance to avoid or reduce the fine. It can be used only if they cooperate with UOKiK as a “key witness” and provide evidence or information regarding the existence of a prohibited agreement. Entrepreneurs and managers interested in the leniency programme are asked to contact the Office. UOKiK lawyers can answer all questions concerning leniency applications, including anonymous enquiries, at a special phone number: 22 55 55 60 555.

If you know about an illegal agreement, notify the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The Office runs a programme to obtain information from anonymous whistle-blowers, including former employees of companies. Contact us on 22 55 60 500 or at the following address: sygnalista@uokik.gov.pl. All data on the programme for whistle-blowers can be found on https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/ 

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 430
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL