South Africa: Convicted killer, Oscar Pistorius’s family implicated in price-fixing cartel

Hendrik Pistorius & Co.(HP&C) was implicated in price fixing going back as far as 1995 years. The Competition Commission (CC) is investigating HP&C based on allegations that the company fixed the prices of the product aglime, a soil additive to correct acidity and toxins in farmland.

HP&C, still chaired by founder Hendrik Pistorius, is the largest producer of aglime in South Africa and was accused of fixing the prices paid to agents who distribute its product. The investigation initiated after a complaint in 2008, and alleges that HP&C was in a horizontal relationship with Sasol Nitro, a division of chemical company Sasol, which was also involved in the production, retail and distribution of aglime.

The CC has granted full immunity to Grasland Ondernemings, which was also implicated in the allegations.The CC is allowed to offer immunity to a cartel member granted the party is the first to blow the whistle and provide information concerning the cartel activity.

HP&C’s only comments at this time have been to deny all allegations concerning the price fixing.

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