A government body has been assigned to evaluate the recommendations of financial penalties for price-fixing violations, according to reports, in a move that could lead to higher fines for anticompetitive corporate behavior.
The US Sentencing Commission first identified price-fixing as a potential area of study last month. Now, say reports, the group, made up mostly of judges, could raise the recommended range of financial penalties and prison sentences for price-fixing.
Antitrust experts have previously suggested that current ranges of those penalties are far too low to act as an effective deterrent to price manipulation. A study conducted in 2012, for example, found that price-fixing sanctions would need to be about five times higher to counter the negative financial effects on consumers.
American Antitrust Institute President Bert Foer said that “there’s reason to think that the level of fines imposed on miscreants is not as high as it ought to be, given the harm that is done.” The AAI had requested the Sentencing Commission to review price-fixing fines last year, according to reports.
Full content: Bangor Daily News
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Hess Shareholders Approve $53 Billion Merger with Chevron
May 28, 2024 by
CPI
EU Regulators Engage with Telegram as App Nears Critical Usage Threshold
May 28, 2024 by
CPI
EEX Offers Remedies to Address EU Antitrust Concerns Over Nasdaq Deal
May 28, 2024 by
CPI
BRG Expands European Competition Practice with New Expert Team in Brussels
May 28, 2024 by
CPI
UK Law Empowers Regulators to Fine Big Tech Without Court Approval
May 28, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Merger Guidelines Retrospective
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Mergers of Complements
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Personality Traits, Private Equity, and Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Lessons in the Importance of Incipiency, Modern Economics, and Monopsony
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Sharpening Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI