A PYMNTS Company

Germany: Regulators fine company in “sausage cartel” scandal

By  |  October 2, 2018

According to Deutsche Welle, antitrust regulators in Germany succeeded in imposing hefty fines against a further company in the so-called “sausage cartel” scandal on Tuesday, October 2.

Germany’s “sausage cartel” included over 20 companies which had conspired to keep sausage prices high by using their “sandwich position” between meat suppliers and supermarkets, a regional court in Düsseldorf ruled on Tuesday.

The court rejected the appeal of food producing company Wiltmann and ordered it to pay a fine of €6.5 million (US$7.5 million) for price fixing. Its CEO, Wolfgang Ingold, should personally pay €350,000 (US$404,321).

The court found that the north German company was involved in the scheme between 1997 and 2009, but Germany’s anti-cartel watchdog believes that the conspiracy first started in the early 1980s.

“The cartel was set up to last,” presiding judge Ulrich Egger said on Tuesday, comparing the sausage producers to a “small family.”

According to the judge, the firms’ representatives would consult by telephone and agree on raising the prices of their products.

Full Content: DW

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.