Iceland Fines Samskip for Collusion

The Icelandic Competition Authority has imposed a hefty $32 million fine on Samskip, a shipping company, for serious violations of competition laws. Samskip vehemently disputes these charges and plans to appeal. They question the Authority’s methods and criticize Eimskip’s earlier settlement in the seven-year investigation.

Samskip has been hit with a $32 million administrative fine by the Competition Authority, citing significant breaches of competition laws. The Authority alleges that Samskip provided inaccurate, misleading, and insufficient information during the investigation, including their document disclosures.

This case revolves around the unlawful collusion between Samskip and Eimskip, both major players in the shipping industry. While Eimskip settled their part of the case in 2021 with a substantially smaller ISK 1.5 billion ($11 million / €11 million) fine, Samskip now faces a much larger penalty.

As reported by RÚV, the probe into these activities was initiated in the fall of 2013 when searches were conducted at Samskip and Eimskip offices, followed by a second round of searches the subsequent summer. The violations, according to the Competition Authority, spanned five years, from 2008 to 2013.

The Competition Authority didn’t hold back in its judgment, describing Samskip’s actions as “serious and extensive.” This is particularly concerning as these actions took place “in markets where the participants of the collusion held dominant positions.”

Source: Iceland Review