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Italy: Smurfit Kappa fined in cartel investigation

By  |  August 6, 2019

Cardboard box maker Smurfit Kappa (SKG) announced on Tuesday, August 6, its Italian unit has been fined €124 million (US$138.8 million) as authorities in the country found that 50 paper and packaging groups had engaged in anti-competitive practices.

SKG stated  that it was “very disappointed” with the finding of the Italian Market Competitiveness Protection Authority (AGCM) “on many levels and will vigorously appeal this decision on both administrative and substantive grounds.”

The Italian authority raided the offices of Smurfit Kappa Italia in April 2017 as part of an investigation into alleged price-fixing across the paper and packaging industry.

The AGCM claimed at the time that there was evidence a number of vertically integrated corrugated cardboard manufacturers—including Smurfit Kappa, DS Smith, Pro-Gest, Laveggia, International Paper, and others—coordinated sales policies of products in a series of at least eight meetings between 2015 and 2016.

Full Content: Irish Times

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