Four companies, ICI, Arkema, Lucite and the Quinn Group, were fined a total of A$590 million by the EC after they were found guilty of operating a cartel for acrylic glass between 1997 and 2002. Degussa, one of the companies originally involved in the cartel, disclosed the cartel in 2002 and thus was able to avoid a A$453 million fine under the EC’s policy of immunity, introduced in 2002.
21 Danish construction companies fined
The Netherlands’ competition authority (the NMa) has fined 21 local construction companies A$3.4 million for colluding to set prices, rig contracts and share markets. The 21 companies all received a 15 per cent reduction in their fines by taking up the NMa’s offer for an accelerated fine procedure, requiring the companies to pay the fines within 13 weeks.
US public hearings into single firm conduct commence
Anti-competitive single firm conduct (a single firm with market power that distorts or subverts the competitive process to the detriment of consumers) was the subject of public hearings held by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice from 20–22 June 2006. The hearings, which will continue throughout the year, are designed to examine the antitrust implications of single firm conduct under the antitrust laws and examine whether and when specific types of single firm conduct may violate s. 2 of the Sherman Act.
Airline price fixing probe continues into airline industry
The UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and US Department of Justice have announced that they have commenced investigations into alleged cartel activity in relation to fuel surcharges for long-haul passenger flights. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have confirmed they are under investigation with BMI, Deutsche Lufthansa, SAS and Air France-KLM all publicly stating they are not involved in the investigation. The OFT is conducting both a criminal and civil investigation into the alleged cartel activity.
