European court cuts Sasol wax cartel fine
The European General Court has more than halved a 2008 fine incurred by Sasol Wax for its involvement in the European paraffin wax cartel.
Sasol Wax’s penalty of €318.2-million, said at the time to be the biggest fine imposed on a South African company, was reduced by €168.22-million to €149.98-million.
In October 2008, the European Commission (EC) ruled that Sasol Wax, together with eight other producers, had operated a cartel between 1992 and 2005 and had fined the participants a collective €676-million for the infringement.
For its role as the supposed leader of the cartel – which was also reported to include Repsol, of Spain; ExxonMobil, of the US; ENI, of Italy; Tudapetrol, of Germany; Hansen & Rosenthal, of Germany; MOL of Hungary; RWE, of Germany; and Total, of France – Sasol received the highest fine.
Engineering News previously reported that Shell had also participated, but had received full immunity under the EC’s 2002 Leniency Notice, for being the first company to come forward with information about the cartel.
Sasol viewed the fine, which was paid in full in January 2009, as excessive and had applied to the European General Court, in Luxemburg, for a reduction of the fine.
Sasol, which said it was unaware of any cartel activity, had in 1995 became a co-shareholder in an existing Germany-based wax business owned by the Schümann group, before acquiring the remaining 50% in 2002.
Sasol would account for the reduction as a post balance sheet adjusting event, with the effect of the reduced fine accounted for in Sasol’s 2014 financial year income statement.
The EC had the right to appeal the decision.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation