List of price fixing cases

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken several airlines to the Federal Court of Australia seeking penalties for alleged price fixing contraventions.

[1] The conduct concerned collusion between competitors over fuel surcharges which the ACCC alleged and Qantas admitted had the purpose and likely effect of fixing or maintaining a component of the price for air cargo services.

The Federal Court in Sydney ordered Qantas to pay $20 million in pecuniary penalties for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

[2][3][4] 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.

[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.

[12] The Federal Court in Sydney ordered pecuniary penalties ($6 million in total with Air France) for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

[12] The Federal Court in Sydney ordered pecuniary penalties of $5 million for breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Martinair admitted that by no later than early 2003, it had arrived and gave effect to illegal price fixing understandings with KLM and Cargolux that they would have discussions and exchange and confirm information with each other in relation to the application of fuel surcharges on cargo carried internationally by air across their respective global networks.

[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 that the arrangements or understandings were reached in countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, India, Japan and Italy.

The ACCC alleged that the arrangements or understandings were reached in countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and India.

The ACCC also alleged arrangements or understandings were reached in Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore for a security surcharge applied to cargo originating in those countries.

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.

[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*.

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.

[31] On 18 April 2007 The European Commission imposed fines on Heineken €219.3m, Grolsch €31.65m and Bavaria €22.85m for operating a price fixing cartel in the Netherlands, totalling €273.7m.

She added, Heineken, Grolsch, Bavaria and InBev tried to cover their tracks by using code names and abbreviations for secret meetings to carve up the market for beer sold to supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and cafes.

[33] Regulators found that the companies rigged bids for contracts and fixed prices in the market for gas-insulated switchgear – equipment is used to control the flow of energy in electricity grids.

[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.

[36] The Autorité de la concurrence handed out fines to Colgate-Palmolive, Henkel, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Sara Lee, SC Johnson, Bolton Solitaire], Groupe Vendôme SA, Gillette, L'Oreal, Beiersdorf and Vania totalling €948.9million in 2016 for price-fixing on personal hygiene products.

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.

In 2007 the Office of Fair Trading told Sainsbury's, Asda, Safeway, Dairy Crest, Wiseman and The Cheese Company they faced maximum fines of £116m.

[39] 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.

[42] In April 2003, The London office of ABN Amro was fined £900,000 for helping a US client, Oechsle International Advisers, to rig share prices.

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".

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.