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Germany: Sausage collusion lands fines for 21 firms

By  |  July 15, 2014

Twenty-one sausage manufacturers in Germany were fined a total of $460 million after competition authorities found evidence the companies had colluded to fix sausage prices, reports say.

The nation’s Federal Cartel Office announced the sanctions on Tuesday and added that 33 individuals had also been penalized in the case. Herta, Wiesenhof and Boeklunder were among the companies named.

According to the Office, sausage makers began colluding in 2003 to hike sausage prices and collaborated on price ranges for their products. An anonymous informant first brought the matter to the Office’s attention, reports say.

Eleven companies investigated admitted wrongdoing in the case.

According to Office chairman Andreas Mundt, the fines are proportionate to “how long the cartel lasted and the billions made in revenue on the market.”

Full content: Fox Business

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