The competition regulator has launched an internal investigation into claims that one of its directors pressured a whistleblower to retract allegations of misconduct at its open banking unit.
Bill Roberts, an assistant director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is alleged to have called a whistleblower from his private phone in June 2019 and urged them to reconsider their complaint, adding that he was “good friends” with senior leaders at the Open Banking Implementation Entity (Obie).
Mr Roberts then shared the identity of the whistleblower with Imran Gulamhuseinwala, the chairman of Obie at the time, and Ed Colley, the unit’s programme director, according to documents seen by The Telegraph.
The claims will pile significant pressure on the watchdog and raise serious questions about its handling of misconduct at Obie, which was set up in 2016 in a state-backed effort to increase competition in the banking sector and falls under the purview of the CMA.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, is already under fire from ministers who regard him as an impediment to post-Brexit economic reforms.
The regulator was informed of the alleged gagging attempt more than two years ago but only launched an inquiry into the complaint this week. Mr Roberts was head of open banking at the CMA at the time of the incident, a position he held until October.
A spokesman for the CMA said: “We are aware of these allegations and they are being thoroughly investigated to establish their veracity.
“It would be inappropriate to comment or speculate until the facts have been established and the investigation has concluded.”
One Obie whistleblower was also recently sent packages of excrement to their home address, which they reported to the police. The CMA said it will assist with any police inquiries.
The CMA last year hired City law firm Mishcon de Reya to investigate allegations of bullying, intimidation, cronyism and conflicts of interest at Obie, alongsidea separate investigation by Alison White, an independent corporate governance expert.
But several Obie whistleblowers have written to the CMA in recent weeks over fears their identities have been exposed after the watchdog shared Mishcon’s 350-page report with several bosses at the unit.
It is understood that this was against the advice of Ms White, who used the Mishcon report as the basis for her own investigation. Mishcon’s full findings have not been shared with any whistleblowers.
The report was redacted to hide the names of the complainants, yet whistleblowers fear they were easily identifiable by detailed descriptions of specific complaints.
In October, Mr Gulamhuseinwala quit as trustee and chairman of Obie after Ms White’s scathing report found that he oversaw a culture of bullying and intimidation at the unit.
The report also criticised the CMA and the nine banks that fund Obie for failing to put adequate governance mechanisms in place from the outset, and failed to act when problems became apparent.
Separately, it has emerged that the CMA ruled on fewer cases last year than it had in the past 18 years, despite ministers moving to take a tougher stance on takeovers.
Figures released on the government’s website showed that the regulator made just 33 decisions on takeovers in 2021, and gave unconditional clearances to 21 of those. It referred six cases to in-depth probes. It comes significantly below the 10-year average of 62 decisions.
Last year, at the height of the pandemic, the CMA made 38 decisions and cleared 18 of those unconditionally. It referred nine cases to Phase 2.
It comes despite the CMA issuing a statement earlier this year in which it said there was “a real need for strong merger enforcement from competition agencies globally to ensure that high concentration levels do not become the accepted norm”.
Ministers, meanwhile, are ramping up UK laws to block more foreign takeovers, with new rules over requiring buyers to notify the government of deals due to come into force in January.
