During March more than 24 member countries of the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network (ICPEN) participated in fraud prevention month. The campaign was designed to raise public awareness of the dangers of fraud, while educating the public on how to recognise and report it. Participants of fraud prevention month included the Competition Bureau Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the US Federal Trade Commission, UK Office of Fair Trading and the ACCC.
Big increase in dangerous products shown by European Commission report
A report on the ‘Rapid Alert System’ (RAPEX) for non-food consumer products recently published by the European Commission shows that the number of dangerous products identified in the EU rose sharply during 2005. Twenty-five per cent of referred products were toys but there were also many electrical appliances reported. The increase in notifications is attributed in part to improved reporting through the RAPEX system.
As in previous years, many of the dangerous products notified came from non-EU countries, particularly China. As well as reinforcing cooperation with the authorities of such countries, the Commission aims to ensure better cooperation between the market surveillance and the customs’ authorities to help prevent dangerous products from entering the EU market. The RAPEX report 2005 is available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/rapex/rapex_en.cfm
French perfume cartel
The French Competition Council has fined 13 of the world’s leading perfume and cosmetic brands and three perfume vendors for price collusion. The companies, including Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, have been fined A$75 million for allegedly colluding with vendors, between 1997 and 2000, to set the price of perfumes and cosmetics.
US Department of Justice uncovers chemical cartel
Chemical companies Akzo Nobel and Solvay agreed to plead guilty to US Department of Justice charges that they colluded to fix the price of chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide and sodium perborates, used in the production of some industrial and household products. Akzo was fined A$443 million and Solvay A$55 million for their role in the conspiracy.
French construction cartel fined
The French Competition Council has levied the highest possible fine on 34 construction companies for colluding on public contracts from 1991 to 1997. Several units of each of the companies, Bouygues, Eiffage and Vinci, have been fined a total of A$82.4 million after an inquiry into the construction industry found they had created software that calculated an equal split of the government’s contracts among them. Vinci and Bouygues are the world’s largest construction companies. Bouygues was previously fined in 2005 for colluding on highway contracts in France.
Highest-ever fines imposed on steel bridge cartel
Forty-four Japanese companies were recently ordered by Japan’s FTC to pay penalties worth A$155 million for colluding to rig the bids for steel bridge construction contracts offered by the government. The fines are the highest-ever imposed by the FTC. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Hitachi Zosen Corp. are among the offending companies.
