Solvay and Akzo Nobel named and shamed
(€59.7m) to settle a lawsuit from the US Justice Department while
having to plead guilty of fixing prices for sodium perborate, an
oxidising agent used mainly in detergents, and hydrogen peroxide,
which is widely used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries
as a reagent for chemical syntheses.
The allegations go back to the period between July 1998 to December 2001, when Belgian-based Solvay and Dutch Akzo Nobel were accused of conspiring to fix the price of hydrogen peroxide in a US District Court in San Francisco.
Solvay was also accused of conspiring to fix the price of sodium perborates sold to Procter & Gamble from June 2000 to December 2001.
"Protecting consumers from international price-fixing cartels is the division's highest priority," said Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department's antitrust division.
"These types of cartels are harmful to our economy and to millions of American consumers."
Solvay and Akzo Nobel's roles in the conspiracies affected nearly $350m in US commerce, said the Justice Department, which hopes it can bust more members of the cartel through their co-operation .
Akzo Nobel agreed to pay a $32m criminal fine for its role in fixing prices in the hydrogen peroxide market, whereas Solvay had to pay $40.8m for participating in price-fixing in both the hydrogen peroxide and sodium perborates markets.
In addition to its uses in chemical synthesis, hydrogen peroxide is also used as a disinfecting agent.
It has been adapted for use as a vapour for sterilising processing machinery and in aseptic packaging to prolong shelf-life.
"Solvay condemns illicit cartels and is committed to healthy competition based exclusively on competitiveness, innovation and the quality of the products and services," the company said in a statement.
Solvay has also been fined €9m by the EU in a vitamin price-fixing case that drew record penalties in 2001.
Last year, the European Commission fined Akzo Nobel, along with Arkema and Hoechst, a total of €217m for operating a cartel in the market for monochloroacetic acid (MCAA).
