The European Commission has fined seven producers of cathode ray tubes (CRT) a total of €1.47 billion (£1.19bn) for their participation in two of “the most organised cartels that the Commission has ever investigated.”
One cartel concerned the production of colour picture tubes for televisions, while the other was related to the colour display tubes used in computer monitors. Both operated worldwide over the course of a decade between 1996 and 2006.
Chunghwa, LG, Philips and Samsung participated in both, while Panasonic, Toshiba, MTPD (now a Panasonic subsidiary) and Technicolor (formerly Thomson) participated in both. Chunghwa received full immunity from fines under the EC’s 2006 Leniency notice for the two cartels as it was the first to reveal their existence to the EC.
Samsung, Philips and Technicolor received reductions ranging from 10 to 40 percent depending on the timing and extent of cooperation.
The EC says that the companies involved fixed prices, shared markets, allocated customers between themselves and restricted output. The cartels were organised by top level management over golf meetings and regular lower-level meetings held around the world.
The commission says that the firms knew they were acting illegally as one document uncovered in the investigation confirmed. “Everybody is requested to keep it as secret as it would be serious damage if it is open to customers or European Commission,” it read, while another said, “Please dispose the following document after reading it.”
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Why just fines for the companies. This was deliberate illegal action on a grand scale, no better than criminal gangs, the managers involved should be paying fines or perhaps doing jail time!