Division (23)

Kuwait Petroleum was the next undertaking to approach the Commission under the Leniency Notice and was the first undertaking to meet the requirements of point 21 thereof. The evidence provided by Kuwait Petroleum strengthened by its very nature the Commission’s ability to prove the facts in question, and therefore represented added value with respect to the evidence in the Commission’s possession at that time. This added value was significant because it corroborated the existing information and, together with the information already in the Commission’s possession, assisted the Commission in proving the infringement. It must be taken into account that BP was not a regular attendant of the bitumen consultation meetings with the purchasers and Kuwait Petroleum was the first to give direct evidence on this central element of the cartel’s functioning. In accordance with point 23 of the Leniency Notice, Kuwait Petroleum therefore qualifies for a reduction of the fine between 30 % and 50 %.