Directors watch out: OFT vows to get tough with directors who should have known their companies were breaking competition laws

The Office of Fair Trading has vowed to get tough with directors who should have know that their companies were breaking competition laws. The OFT wants to use powers under the Company Directors Disqualification Act to disqualify directors for up to 15 years if they should have known that their companies were doing wrong. It said it was just as concerned with directors who were passive onlookers as directors who were personally involved in the infringement. It hopes the use of these powers will act as a powerful deterrent to businesses engaged in anti-competitive activity, whether big or small, by hitting directors with personal implications. Just as with companies, directors can escape problems or receive lenient treatment by co-operating with investigations.