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Print articleHigh Voltage Power Cable Cartel European Commission Imposes Fines of €302m on Participants
May, 2014 - Hayley Pizzey
European Commission imposes fines of €302m on participants
What does this mean for you?
The decision
The European Commission has imposed fines totalling just over €300 million on the participants in a cartel involving the supply of underground and submarine high voltage power cables for important high voltage power cable projects in the EEA (including large infrastructure and renewable energy projects such as offshore wind farms).
The firms involved in the cartel were ABB, Nexans, Prysmian (previously Pirelli), J-Power Systems (previously Sumitomo Electric and Hitachi Metals), VISCAS (previously Furukawa Electric and Fujikura), EXSYM (previously SWCC Showa and Mitsubishi Cable), Brugg, NKT, Silec (previously Safran), LS Cable and Taihan. ABB received full immunity from fines as it was the first to reveal the cartel to the Commission.
Fines were also imposed on some of the parent companies of the participants involved, as they exercised a decisive influence over their subsidiaries. This included Goldman Sachs’ investment arm which is the former owner of Prysmian.
For almost 10 years these companies shared markets and allocated customers and parts of the world between themselves. The Commission also found that the participants were well aware that they were breaking competition rules.
Read our Competition Case Law Update to find out more on the implications of the case for you and the possible remedies available
