The European
Commission has fined Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo a total of EUR166 million for
colluding to increase their prices and exchanging commercially sensitive
information on future bids in the rechargeable lithium-ion battery market.
Rechargeable
lithium-ion batteries are used in portable devices including virtually all laptops
and mobile phones. The Commission found that the cartel affected prices in
Europe, although most of the illegal activity took place in Asia.
Samsung was
fined EUR58 million but obtained complete immunity as the leniency applicant. Panasonic, having bought Sanyo in 2012, is
liable for both its own fine of EUR40million and Sanyo’s EUR97 million
fine. Sony is accountable for a
EUR30million fine.
All parties received
a 10 per cent reduction in their fines under the settlement procedure. The case is the 22nd cartel
investigation to date that has been subject to the Commission’s settlement
procedure, first introduced in May 2010.
The US
Department of Justice fined Sanyo USD10.7million in 2012 for a cartel involving
lithium-ion batteries.
The decision
brings the total tally of fines imposed by the Commission so far in 2016 to
EUR3.7 billion (in large part due to the EUR2.93 billion penalty imposed in the
trucks cartel).
Source:
Commission press release IP/16/4356
No comments:
Post a Comment