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EU: Ethanol companies to contest collusion allegations

By  |  September 2, 2018

Spanish ethanol producer Abengoa and its Belgian peer Alcogroup will challenge the European Commission’s assertion that the companies colluded to fix ethanol price benchmarks, reported Reuters.

The European Commission sent a statement of objections to the two companies in late July, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, August 29, referring to EU documents which set out concerns about anti-competitive practices.

“The companies firmly contest the Commission’ allegations, both in fact and in law,” Alcogroup declared in a statement, adding that it would “fully exercise their rights of defence in the ongoing investigation.”

The move by the Commission followed a near three-year long investigation on concerns that the two companies along with Swedish company Lantmannen may have colluded to manipulate ethanol benchmarks, which are published by energy and commodities information provider S&P Global Platts.

Full Content: Reuters

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