Italy Fines Six Oil Companies For Running "Fuel Cartel"
Italy fines six oil companies for running jet fuel cartel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060620...ergyoilairline
(Gold9472: These guys don't care about their criminality. They just blatantly do crime after crime after crime. What the hell do they care? They're making money hand over fist.)
Tue Jun 20, 2:19 PM ET
MILAN (AFP) - Italy's antitrust authority said it has fined six oil companies a total of 315 million euros (397 million dollars) for sharing out the market for supplying jet fuel at the country's airports.
It named the firms as Eni, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Kuwait, Tamoil and Total and said they had been fined varying amounts. Italy's oil giant Eni was hit with the largest fine of 117 million euros.
The companies have carried out "an intense and continuous exchange of information," including with their various joint companies providing stockage and aircraft refuelling, it said.
"In addition, the companies have coordinated their respective strategies in awards of supply tenders and have adopted reciprocal punitive behaviour in face of attempts to change the market organisation," said the antitrust authority.
"The result has been a worsening of the economic conditions offered to air companies," it added.
The six companies prevented new operators from entering the market, including airlines which wanted to organise their own supply, it said.
The companies will have to stop their behaviour barring others parties' entry, and by June 30, 2008 will have to dismantle anti-competitive aspects in joint ownership of various operations, it said.
