Colombia: $22 million USD fine for market-fixing tissue makers

Jorge Enrique Sánchez, Deputy Superintendent for Competition Protection, issued a statement recommending his agency, Colombian market and industry regulator SIC, to issue a guilty verdict to the paper-makers involved in a multi-national price-fixing case in tissue paper and other paper products. The case, known as the ‘confort cartel’, could see companies fined with up to $68 billion pesos ($22 million USD), while top executives may face fines of up to $1.3 million ($438,000 USD)

The case has upended Colombia’s tissue-paper market, worth over $1.2 trillion pesos ($384 million USD) a year. According to documents revealed by the SIC, prices would have been raised by the cartel by up to 30%, representing annual earnings of over $300 billion pesos ($96 million USD)

The investigation revealed price-fixing agreements dating back over 16 years, running constantly at least until the end of 2013. The Kimberly-Clarke and Familia groups have been identified as the main instigators of the cartel, being permanent and active participants in a series of price-fixing processes.

Full content: Diario Financiero

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