Ad agency cartel row: Publicis sues CCI over denial of case files
As per reports, Publicis has argued that the agency and its India employees are ‘unable to understand the allegations against them’ for preparing a defence
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Published: Aug 16, 2025 12:37 PM | 1 min read
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Publicis Groupe has taken India’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to court after being denied access to case files in the investigation into alleged price-fixing by ad agencies.
In March, raids were conducted on several major players, including WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis, and Omnicom, over suspicions of collusion in setting publicity rates and discounts.
As per media reports, in its court filing, Publicis has argued that the agency and its India employees are “unable to understand the allegations against them and prepare a defence in the absence of the case records.”
The case marks the first legal challenge arising from this investigation.
Publicis had previously urged the CCI in July to pause further investigation until it could inspect the case documents, but the regulator had declined.
Dentsu has voluntarily disclosed alleged malpractices under the CCI’s leniency programme, which grants reduced penalties to companies that provide evidence of wrongdoing.
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