Copper cartel fined €314.7m

The European Commission has fined 30 companies €314.7m for participating in a copper fittings cartel that violates Article 81 of the EC Treaty banning restrictive business practices.

The 11 groups to which these companies belong are Aalberts, IMI, Delta, Advanced Fluid Connections, Legris, Frabo, Mueller, Tomkins, Flowflex, Viegener and Sanha Kaimer.

Between 1988 and 2004, the companies are said to have fixed prices, discounts and rebates, agreed on mechanisms to coordinate price increases, allocated customers and exchanged commercially important and confidential information.

Four of these groups, Aalberts, Delta, Advanced Fluid Connections and Legris had their fines increased by 60% because they continued their illegal arrangements after the Commission’s initial inspections. Advanced Fluid Connections’ fine was increased by a further 50% for providing the Commission with misleading information. Mueller received full immunity from fines under the Commission’s leniency programme, as it was the first company to come forward with information about the cartel.