Following the coverage in Morgunblaðið concerning the disclosure of confidential information about the Competition Authority's complaint to the Office of the Special Prosecutor regarding the alleged offences of certain employees of two shipping companies, the Authority wishes to make the following statement:
In a news release from the Competition Authority on 17 October.., which can be accessed on the authority's website, states that on the same day, the Competition Authority sent a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions requesting a public investigation into where and how confidential information regarding the substance of the Competition Authority's complaint to the Office of the Special Prosecutor was disclosed to unauthorised parties. The news report on the homepage also states that measures were taken within the Competition Authority to ascertain whether the information originated from there and also to facilitate the investigation of the matter. The Director of Public Prosecutions was informed of this.
As stated in the aforementioned news report, the Competition Authority views the aforementioned disclosure of confidential information with serious concern. For this reason, the Competition Authority referred the matter to the public investigators for proceedings, as detailed above. By its nature, the Competition Authority cannot provide information on the status of that investigation, other than to state that no one currently employed by the Competition Authority has the status of a suspect in relation to it.
It is necessary to refute the unsubstantiated reporting in Morgunblaðið that the alleged disclosure of confidential information in connection with the aforementioned investigation is linked to the Supreme Court's judgment from last autumn regarding the Competition Authority's 2011 decision on Vífilfell's abuse of a dominant position.position. The commentary in Morgunblaðið also states that, following the Supreme Court's judgment last autumn, the Competition Authority carried out another search at Vífilfell to press its case, despite the ruling. The truth is that the Competition Authority has never carried out a search at Vífilfell in connection with the aforementioned investigation.
The feature story also contains unsubstantiated coverage suggesting that the investigation into the shipping companies and the alleged disclosure of confidential information in connection with that investigation is linked to the discussion of a potential merger of the regulatory authorities. That coverage is unfounded.
Due to the coverage in Morgunblaðið of the Competition Authority's investigation into the shipping companies, it is appropriate to emphasise what was stated in The watchdog's report from 15 October. that the investigation into the matter, which began with a search in September 2013, has not reached a stage where any conclusions can be drawn about its outcome. Any discussion of the potential liability of the companies or their employees is therefore premature.
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