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Update on latest cartel fines: Belgian removal cartel and synthetic rubber cartel

10 April 2008

The European Commission has continued to take tough action against cartels, imposing fines of €32,755,500 and €34,230,000 on a Belgian removal cartel and a Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) cartel, respectively.

The former, which was uncovered by the Commission acting on its own intiative, operated for almost nineteen years until September 2003. The companies involved fixed prices, rigged bids and put in place a system of compensation, payable where the “wrong” company’s bid was successful.

The latter operated between 2000 and 2002, with the participants fixing prices and exchanging sensitive commercial information. One cartel participant’s fine was increased by 50% as it was a repeat offender.

Commenting on the NBR cartel, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "This is the fourth cartel decision in the synthetic rubber industry in just over 3 years. I hope that this is the last. Buyers of synthetic rubber should be concerned about how much these cartels have cost them. And shareholders should be concerned about how much the fines have cost them."

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Peter Andrews

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