Fender Europe, the supplier of the world famous Stratocaster electric guitar to the UK, has been fined £25,000 after an employee failed to hand over documents during an inspection by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Investigators from the CMA discovered a “senior officer had concealed notebooks” during an official visit to the company’s British headquarters in East Grinstead, West Sussex.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed last May that the American guitar manufacturer was among a number of musical instrument makers at the centre of a price-fixing investigation.

Five separate “initial investigations” were launched into “suspected breaches of competition law by various parties”. At the time the CMA said inquiries “relate to alleged anti-competitive agreements and/or concerted practices in relation to musical instruments and equipment”, adding that it is focusing on “suspected anti-competitive agreements”.

Its officers can enter a business and demand documents without needing a warrant and demand documents.