BRUSSELS, May 13, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The European Commission fined Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) 1.06 billion euros (1.44 billion U.S. dollars) on Wednesday for its abuse of its dominant position in the computer chip market.
It was the biggest anti-trust fine imposed by the Commission on a single company. The following are a list of major EU antitrust fines in recent years.
December 2001, the Commission fined eight companies, including Swiss-based company Hoffman-La Roche, a total of 855.22 million euros (1163 million dollars) for participating in eight distinct secret market-sharing and price-fixing cartels affecting vitamin products. The fines were later reduced to 790 million euros (1074.4 million dollars) by a EU court.
March 2004, the Commission fined Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) 497 million euros (675.92 million dollars) for abuse of its dominant position in the market of computer operating systems. The U.S. software giant was again hit by the Commission with a fine of 280 million euros (380.8 million dollars) in July 2006 and 899 million euros (1,220 million dollars) in February 2008 for its continued non-compliance with the Commission's ruling that ordered Microsoft to cease illegal practices.
May 2006, the Commission fined nine companies, including Akzo Nobel (OOTC:AKZOY) , a total of 388.128 million euros (527.85 million dollars) for participating in cartels fixing prices in the hydrogen peroxide and perborate markets.
May 2006, the Commission imposed fines of 344.5 million euros (468.52 million dollars) on five producers of acrylic glass for price fixing.
November 2006, the Commission fined five groups of companies, including Bayer, Shell and Dow, a total of 519 million euros (705.84 million dollars) for participating in a cartel to fix prices and share customers for certain types of synthetic rubber.
January 2007, the Commission fined eleven groups of companies, including Siemens (NYSE:SI) and Toshiba, a total of more than 750 million euros (1,020 million dollars) for participating in a cartel for gas insulated switchgear projects.
February 2007, the Commission fined the Otis, KONE, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp groups 992 million euros (1,349.12 million dollars) for operating cartels for the installation and maintenance of lifts and escalators in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
April 2007, the Commission fined the Dutch brewers Heineken, Grolsch and Bavaria a total of more than 273 million euros (371.28 million dollars) for operating a cartel on the beer market in the Netherlands.
September 2007, the Commission fined YKK of Japan and six others a total of 328 million euros (446.08 million dollars) for operating cartels on the markets for fasteners and attaching machines in Europe and worldwide.
November 2007, the Commission imposed fines, totaling nearly 487 million euros (662.32 million dollars), on Saint-Gobain of France and three others for coordinating price increases and other commercial conditions for deliveries of flat glass.
December 2007, the Commission imposed a total fine of 247.6 million euros (336.74 million dollars) on Bayer, DuPont (NYSE:DD PRB) (NYSE:DD PRA) (NYSE:DD) , Dow and three other groups for participating in a cartel for chloroprene rubber.
October 2008, the Commission imposed a total fine of 676 million euros (919.36 million dollars) on nine groups, including ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and Total, for participating in a cartel for paraffin wax.
November 2008, the Commission fined four car glass producers more than 1.38 billion euros (1.88 billion dollars) for market sharing cartel.
