Dawn Raids in Saudi Competition Law and Egyptian Competition Law

Competition Focus

In Egypt, the Egyptian Competition Authority conducts "Dawn Raids" for antitrust checks. Firms should cooperate and ensure legal officers are present. Raids are restricted to business hours and do not include private communications.Contents

Thank you for reading

Law Update: Issue 367 - Saudi Arabia & Competition Focus

Dawn Raids in Saudi Competition Law & Egyptian Competition Law

Khaled Attia
Partner,
Head of Dispute Resolution

Omar AlHumaid
Partner,
Corporate Structuring

Chahira Bacha
Senior Associate,
Dispute Resolution

A ‘Dawn Raid’ is commonly known as a surprise/unscheduled inspection by a competition authority, sometimes involving local police. A Dawn Raid is generally carried out when an authority thinks a request for information (RFI) is insufficient due to gravity of issue or risk of destruction or hiding of evidence.Regarding Dawn Raids in Saudi Arabia, the Competition Law (promulgated under Royal Decree No. (M/75) dated 29/06/1440H) provide that the board of the General Authority of Competition (“GAC”) appoints certain employees and gives them the below authority which is prescribed under article 15 of the law and 37 of the Implementing Regulations (Implementing Regulations issued by the Board of Directors Resolution No. (337) dated 25/1/1441H of the Competition Law promulgated under Royal Decree No. (M/75) dated 29/06/1440H): Inquiring, searching, gathering evidence, and recording violations of the Competition law and shall have judicial recording capacity. The officers shall also have the right to enter the entities' premises, offices, and branches during regular business hours, access their books and documents, and make copies thereof and a report to this effect shall be signed by the officers and the entity's employee present at the time of recording the violation. In competition-related cases, they may use all means of proof, including electronic and computergenerated data, telephone recordings, facsimile correspondence, and electronic mail. The implementing regulations also provide that officers of the GAC (if required) can seek assistance from the competent authority such as the security agency/Police to assist with the carrying out the Dawn Raids.

A ‘Dawn Raid’ is a surprise inspection by a competition authority which is carried out when an authority thinks a request for information (RFI) is insufficient due to gravity of issue or risk of destruction of evidence.

Similarly in Egypt, Article 17 of the Egyptian Competition Law (the “ECL”) gives certain employees of the Egyptian Competition Authority (“ECA”), as specified in the decree issued by the Minister of Justice, the right to conduct dawn raids on private and public economic enterprises. According to article 17 of the ECL and article 38 of the Executive Regulations / Article 15 of the Saudi Competition law and 37 of the Implementing Regulations, when conducting a Dawn Raid; ECA and GAC investigators will have a warrant that grants them the right to review records and documents, obtain any information or data, interview employees, access PCs and company servers, and make copies of whatever documents they deem essential to their investigation; thus, it is paramount to understand the scope of the warrant. However, articles 17 of the ECL and 38 of the Executive Regulations / Article 15 of the Saudi Competition law and 37 of the Implementing Regulations do not grant ECA and GAC investigators the right to break doors, enter companies outside of working hours, check private communication, access personal phones or laptops or access locked offices without explicit permission. The following paragraphs highlight the key practices that companies need to consider when being subject to a Dawn Raid by GAC and ECA:
During a Dawn Raid, it is important to be friendly to GAC/ECA investigators. It is also important to cooperate with them and not hinder their investigation. It is essential to make sure that any confidential document taken by GAC/ECA investigators is marked as confidential. Furthermore, the company legal officer and person in charge needs to be always present with the investigators to guide them through their investigation. Every document taken by GAC/ECA investigators or minutes of meeting with any employee of the company should be recorded by the company legal officer and the person in charge. It is paramount not to volunteer any information not requested by GAC and ECA investigators nor initiate any conversations with them.It is worth mentioning that the legal officer or the person in charge should point out to GAC/ECA investigators if they go beyond the scope of the search warrant. Furthermore, no employee should try to stop GAC and ECA investigators of doing their job as this could lead to criminal charges.A Dawn Raid is one of the most effective tools that has been frequently used by the GAC and ECA. This is evident from the number of Dawn Raids conducted by GAC and ECA in multiple sectors such as:

The pharmaceutical sector in a case related to Pharmaceutical Distributors Cartel.

The Automobile sector, in cases related to price fixing and dividing markets due to its geographical location.

The construction sector in cases related to Cement Cartel and Bricks Cartel.

Food & beverages sector in cases related to Dairy Milk Products Cartel and agriculture sector in an abuse of dominance investigation.

Therefore, it is important to conduct training to the employees of the company on how to react to Dawn Raids and to comply with the requirements of the law without causing any harm or volunteering any unnecessary information.

For further information,
please contact Khaled Attia, Omar AlHumaid and Chahira Bacha.

^{Published in}^{April 2024}