Price fixing cases
Competition law |
---|
Basic concepts |
Anti-competitive practices |
Enforcement authorities and organizations |
This is a partial list of notable price fixing and bid rigging cases.
Australia
Airlines
The
Qantas
The ACCC instituted proceedings against
British Airways
The ACCC instituted proceedings against British Airways seeking penalties for alleged price fixing contraventions relating to fuel surcharges applied to international carriage of air cargo between 2002 and early 2006.[1] The Federal Court in Sydney ordered British Airways to pay $5 million in pecuniary penalties for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The ACCC instituted proceedings alleging British Airways reached an understanding with Lufthansa Cargo in relation to the imposition of fuel surcharges on some of its international air cargo services between 2002 and early 2006.[5][6]
Singapore Airlines Cargo
The ACCC alleged that
Air France
The ACCC instituted proceedings against Air France seeking penalties for alleged price fixing between early 2003 and 2006. The alleged contraventions relate to fuel surcharges applied to international carriage of air cargo during that period.[9] The Federal Court in Sydney ordered pecuniary penalties ($6 million in total with KLM) for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The ACCC alleged the airline reached understandings with other international airlines in relation to the imposition of fuel surcharges applied to international carriage of air cargo during that period between early 2003 and 2006. Air France admitted to making and giving effect to illegal price fixing understandings with Lufthansa, repeatedly exchanging assurances with Lufthansa in the implementation of fuel surcharge increases for international carriage of air cargo across their global networks.[10][11]
Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM)
The ACCC instituted proceedings against
Martinair Holland
The ACCC instituted proceedings against
Cargolux
The ACCC instituted proceedings against Cargolux seeking penalties for alleged price fixing between early 2003 and 2006. The alleged contraventions relate to fuel surcharges applied to international carriage of air cargo during that period.[12] The Federal Court in Sydney ordered pecuniary penalties of $5 million for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The ACCC alleged the airline reached understandings with other international airlines in relation to the imposition of fuel surcharges applied to international carriage of air cargo during that period between early 2003 and 2006. Cargolux admitted to making and giving effect to illegal price fixing understandings with each of Lufthansa, Air France and KLM that each of them would impose a fuel surcharge on cargo carried internationally by air across their networks, (except where local conditions in a particular port or in a particular geographic area prevented the imposition, or full imposition, of the fuel surcharge).[10][11]
Cathay Pacific
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Cathay Pacific. The ACCC alleged that between 2000 and 2006, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd entered into over 70 arrangements or understandings with other international air cargo carriers that had the purpose or effect of fixing the price of a fuel surcharge, a security surcharge and rates that were applied to air cargo carried by Cathay Pacific and other airlines. The ACCC alleged that the arrangements or understandings were reached in countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, India, Japan and Italy. The ACCC sort declarations, injunctive relief, pecuniary penalties, and costs.[13][14]
Emirates
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against
Garuda Indonesia
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Garuda Indonesia. The ACCC alleged that between 2001 and 2006, Garuda Indonesia entered into arrangements or understandings with other international air cargo carriers that had the purpose or effect of fixing the price of a fuel surcharge and a security surcharge that were applied to air cargo carried by PT Garuda Indonesia Ltd and other airlines. The ACCC alleged that the arrangements or understandings were reached in Indonesia and Hong Kong. The ACCC sort declarations, injunctive relief, pecuniary penalties, and costs.[17][18]
Thai Airways
The ACCC alleged that between 2001 and 2006,
Korean Air
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Korean Air. The ACCC alleged that between 2001 and 2006, Korean Air entered into arrangements or understandings with other international air cargo carriers that had the purpose or effect of fixing the price of a fuel surcharge, a security surcharge and a customs fee that were applied to air cargo carried by Korean Air and other airlines. The ACCC alleged that the arrangements or understandings were reached in Korea, Indonesia and Hong Kong for surcharges applied to cargo originating in those countries and in Indonesia for a customs fee applied to cargo originating in that country. The ACCC sort declarations, injunctive relief, pecuniary penalties, and costs.[21][22]
Malaysian Airlines
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against
Japan Airlines
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court today against Japan Airlines. The ACCC alleged that between 2002 and 2006, Japan Airlines, Ltd. entered into arrangements or understandings with other international air cargo carriers that had the purpose or effect of fixing the price of a fuel surcharge and a security surcharge that were applied to air cargo carried by them and other airlines. The ACCC alleged that arrangements or understandings were reached in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan for fuel surcharges applied to cargo originating in those countries. The ACCC also alleged arrangements or understandings were reached in Singapore and Hong Kong for a security surcharge applied to cargo originating in those countries. The ACCC sort declarations, injunctive relief, pecuniary penalties, and costs.[26][27] The Federal Court in Melbourne ordered a $5.5 million penalty against Japan Airlines International Co Ltd (JAL) for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974*. JAL admitted to making and giving effect to illegal price fixing understandings with other international airlines that each of them would impose a fuel surcharge and an insurance and security surcharge on cargo carried internationally by air across their networks.[28]
Air New Zealand
The ACCC instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Air New Zealand. The ACCC alleged that between 2002 and 2006, Air New Zealand entered into arrangements or understandings with other international air cargo carriers that had the purpose or effect of fixing the price of a fuel surcharge and a security surcharge that were applied to air cargo carried by them and other airlines. The ACCC alleged that arrangements or understandings were reached in Singapore Hong Kong and Japan for fuel surcharges applied to cargo originating in those countries. The ACCC also alleged arrangements or understandings were reached in Singapore and Hong Kong for a security surcharge applied to cargo originating in those countries. The ACCC sort declarations, injunctive relief, pecuniary penalties, and costs.[27][29][30]
Cosmetics skincare
In 2007, skincare cosmetics company Jurlique was fined AUD$3.4 million where the company entered into agreements with resellers where one of the terms included that the products were not to be sold for prices less than a price specified by Jurlique.[31]
Canada
Denmark
Forest products
EU convictions
Beer
On 18 April 2007 The
This is simply unacceptable: that major beer suppliers colluded to up prices and to carve up markets among themselves.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes
In December 2001 Interbrew, Danone (former owner of Kronenbourg), and two other smaller brewers were fined €91m for operating a cartel in Belgium while four Luxembourg companies were fined €448,000 the same month.[32]
In 2004,
Heavy electrical (switchgear)
In January 2007
The cartel swapped information on offers from customers and operated a quota system for the division of work. Bids were rigged so that tenders went to whichever firm was due work under the quota system. "Code names were used for both companies and individuals. They relied on anonymous email addresses for communication and used encryption for sending messages," said the commission.[34][35] "The commission has put an end to a cartel which has cheated public utility companies and consumers for more than 16 years," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.[34]
France
Telecoms
In 2005,
Personal hygiene/health and beauty products
The
Dessert foods
In 2019, the 6 companies behind the "Compote Cartel", a price-fixing scheme for children desserts products, were fined €58.3million for engaging in a sophisticated plan to artificially inflate the prices of their products via secret coordination. Andros, Lactalis, Materne, Charles & Alice, Valade and Conserves France were found guilty by the Autorité de la concurrence, while a seventh company, Coroos, was exonerated because its directors cooperated with the investigation, allowing the prosecutors to prove their case against the six others.[38]
United Kingdom
Dairy products
On 7 December 2007,
All the major UK store chains, with the exception of
If the OFT proves its case, the retailers could theoretically face fines of up to 10 per cent of their worldwide turnover, which in Tesco's case would amount to £4.3bn. The Office of Fair Trading told Sainsbury's, Asda, Safeway, Dairy Crest, Wiseman and The Cheese Company they faced maximum fines of £116m, though the final figure may be as low as £80m as a result of their co-operation.
Construction
In April 2008, The Office of Fair Trading named 112 companies that it says colluded to inflate the cost of a wide range of contracts worth billions of pounds, including tenders for schools, universities and hospitals.[41]
The list includes several publicly listed companies, including Balfour Beatty, Kier Group and Carillion, with 80 of the firms have already admitted participating in some form of bid-rigging, or have applied for leniency in return for assisting the OFT. The allegations centre around "cover pricing", in which firms secretly agreed the prices they would submit during a tender process. A firm that did not want to win the contract would submit a price that was much too high. In some cases, the eventual successful bidder would then reward them with a secret payment. This bid rigging often involved false invoices. The OFT declined to comment on the value of the fraud.[41]
Financial
In April 2003, The London office of
ABN's then joint head of the UK equity trading desk, Michael Ackers, has been fined £70,000 for "market misconduct." The FSA decided that traders in ABN Amro Equities (UK), known as AAE, "accepted improper instructions whose apparent purpose was to push the closing market price of certain shares to a higher level than would otherwise have been the case". This happened on three separate occasions between April and October 1998 in respect of shares in Carlton Communications, British Biotech, Volkswagen and Metro. Angelo Iannone, the head of ABN's international sales trading desk in New York, had had a long-standing relationship with Oechsle and one of its fund managers, Andrew Parlin. They agreed to increase the price of the shares in question at the end of certain days' trading, to make the prices look better in clients' portfolios.[42]
Trading in stocks simply to move the market price is a serious abuse: it distorts market forces and undermines investors' confidence in the integrity of the prices quoted on exchanges...These were not isolated events. The repeated nature of the breaches demonstrates the absence of a robust compliance environment on the firm's trading floor. We view with particular seriousness misconduct that occurs in the context of a firm's inadequate investment in compliance procedures, policies and training. Investors need to be confident that they are dealing in clean and orderly markets.[43]
— Carol Sergeant, Managing Director of the FSA
United States
Agribusiness
Air travel
In August 2007 British Airways (BA) was fined £121.5 million[44] for price-fixing. The fine was imposed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after BA admitted to the price-fixing of fuel surcharges on long haul flights. The allegation first came to light in 2006 when Virgin Atlantic reported the events to the authorities after it found staff members from BA and Virgin Atlantic were colluding. Virgin Atlantic have since been granted immunity by both the OFT and the United States Department of Justice who have been investigating the allegations since June 2006. The United States Department of Justice later announced that it would fine British Airways $300 million for price fixing.
The allegations are thought to be linked to the resignation of commercial director Martin George and communications chief Iain Burns. Although BA said fuel surcharges were "a legitimate way of recovering costs", in May 2007 it put aside £350 million for legal fees and fines.
Alcoholic beverages
Computer components
- DRAM price fixing
Heavy electrical equipment
A federal district court in February 1961 fined 29 electrical manufacturing companies and 45 individuals a total of $1,924,500 for violating the
Metals
Music publishing
See also
References
- ^ a b ACCC launches its first cases in alleged air freight cartel, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 28 October 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Court orders Qantas to pay $20 million for price fixing, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 11 December 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Qantas cops fine for price fixing, 11 December 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Qantas Airways Limited [2008] FCA 1976, Federal Court (Australia).
- ^ Court orders British Airways PLC to pay $5 million for price fixing, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 11 December 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v British Airways PLC [2008] FCA 1977, Federal Court (Australia).
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd for alleged price-fixing, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 22 December 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Singapore Airlines to defend ACCC price fixing claim, ABC News, 22 December 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against more airlines in alleged air freight cartel, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 10 February 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ a b c d Court orders airlines to pay a total of $16 million in penalties for price fixing, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 16 February 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ a b c d Federal Court fines Air France, KLM, Martinari and Cargolux $16 million for price-fixing cartel, The Australian, 16 February 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ a b c ACCC institutes proceedings against more airlines in alleged air freight cartel, 10 February 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd for alleged price-fixing of air freight, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 30 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC takes legal action against Cathay Pacific, Aircargo Asia Pacific, 30 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC takes action against Emirates for alleged air freight price fixing, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 18 August 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Emirates accused of freight price-fixing, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 August 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against PT Garuda Indonesia Ltd for alleged price fixing of air freight, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 2 September 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ "ACCC targets Garuda – Aviation Business". Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Thai Airways for alleged price fixing of air freight, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 28 October 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Thai Airways falls foul of ACCC, Eye For Transport, 29 October 2009 Archived 28 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 5 March 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Australia targets Korean, Air cargo Net, 12 March 2010 Archived 7 July 2012 at archive.today. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Malaysian airline companies for alleged price fixing of air freight, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 13 April 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ MAS latest target for price-fixing charges, Air Cargo, 20 April 2010 Archived 11 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine ]. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Malaysia Airlines in court on "cartel" allegations, Air Cargo World, 13 April 2010 Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Japan Airlines International Co., Ltd. for alleged price fixing of air freight, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ a b Price fixing charge for Air NZ and JAL, ACCC says, Herald Sun, 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Japan Airlines penalised $5.5 million for price fixing, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 11 April 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ ACCC institutes proceedings against Air New Zealand Ltd for alleged price fixing of air freight, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Air New Zealand caught fixing prices by ACCC, Business Dynamics, 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2011
- ^ Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer (23 February 2013). "Highest ever penalty for resale price maintenance against skincare, cosmetics company Jurlique: $3.4 million". Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Gow, David (18 April 2007). "Heineken and Grolsch fined for price-fixing". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
- ^ "Vote call by Siemens shareholders". BBC. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
- ^ a b "Siemens hit with €396 million price fixing fine". Retrieved 1 August 2007.
- ^ "The General Court reduces the fines of certain members of the gas insulated switchgear cartel" (PDF) (Press release). Luxembourg: General Court of the European Union. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ "French Competition Council imposes new record fine for mobile phone operators". Bird & Bird. 13 April 2006.
- ^ "Huge price-fixing fine is upheld". The Connexion. 28 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017.
- ^ "Le «cartel des compotes» condamné à 58,3 millions d'euros d'amendes". 18 December 2019.
- ^ Walsh, Fiona; editor, business (7 December 2007). "OFT hands out £116m in fines for milk price fixing". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
:|last2=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Milked! Supermarkets admit secret price-fixing". Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ a b OFT issues statement of objections against 112 construction companies Archived 20 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Independent.co.uk. Archived from the originalon 30 June 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ 5HS, The Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14. "FSA fines ABN Amro Equities 900,000 for market misconduct". Retrieved 29 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "BA gets £121.5m price-fixing fine". BBC News. 8 January 2007.
- ^ CQ almanac Electrical Price Fixing Stirs Inquiry