EU: Oil price-fixing probe widens as Britain vows to take action

As news rolls in following the announcement that the European Commission has begun looking at some of the world’s largest oil companies, Great Britain has spoken out, vowing to take action if the Commission finds conclusive evidence of price-fixing by the conglomerates. BP, Shell and Statoil are all facing the Commission as it asks for business practice information, though a formal investigation has not yet been launched. Oil company Eni, based in Italy, also confirmed that it had been approached by the Commission looking for information of the case. On Wednesday, the UK’s energy minister Ed Davey said the companies would face strict fines if any wrongdoing is found. According to reports, the Commission, which conducted dawn raids at offices of Shell, BP and Statoil; their competing trading companies were not searched, however. The raids were some of the largest cross-boarder searches conducted since the LIBOR scandal broke.

Full Content: Reuters

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