DRAM Producer's cartel fined € 331 million
A couple of years after US government officials condemned and fined DRAM manufacturers for artificially fixing prices, the European Union saw an opportunity to slightly fill the empty treasury of continuing proceedings with companies that have either historically pleaded guilty or found guilty of advantageous collusion .
The European Commission fined 10 major chip manufacturers in the amount of € 331.3 million with the official reason for "cartel collusion on artificially fixing prices and transferring important information to competitors from 1998 to 2002".
The case began back in 2001, when major OEMs, like Dell and Apple, began to complain to the authorities about the mysterious jump in prices, despite the excessive production of DRAM chips. The US Department of Justice became interested in this situation only in 2004, when German Infineon grabbed a $ 160 million fine after "frank confession." The next in line were Hynix and Samsung, which lasted throughout 2005, finally ended in early 2006, when Elpida was ordered to pay $ 84 million.
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Of course, the methods of the European Union differ somewhat from the approach of overseas colleagues. 10 companies were not summoned to court, but to the audience to discuss the problem ... and it was even more effective. I did not have to hire expensive investigators and lawyers, because Micron passed all his accomplices, for which he received a 100% discount to the fine (according to European laws, the first "informer" in the cartel receives immunity). The rest of the companies involved in the case will pay large sums, starting from € 1.8 million in the case of Nanya, to € 145.7 million in the case of Samsung.
via ArsTechnica
The European Commission fined 10 major chip manufacturers in the amount of € 331.3 million with the official reason for "cartel collusion on artificially fixing prices and transferring important information to competitors from 1998 to 2002".
The case began back in 2001, when major OEMs, like Dell and Apple, began to complain to the authorities about the mysterious jump in prices, despite the excessive production of DRAM chips. The US Department of Justice became interested in this situation only in 2004, when German Infineon grabbed a $ 160 million fine after "frank confession." The next in line were Hynix and Samsung, which lasted throughout 2005, finally ended in early 2006, when Elpida was ordered to pay $ 84 million.
')
Of course, the methods of the European Union differ somewhat from the approach of overseas colleagues. 10 companies were not summoned to court, but to the audience to discuss the problem ... and it was even more effective. I did not have to hire expensive investigators and lawyers, because Micron passed all his accomplices, for which he received a 100% discount to the fine (according to European laws, the first "informer" in the cartel receives immunity). The rest of the companies involved in the case will pay large sums, starting from € 1.8 million in the case of Nanya, to € 145.7 million in the case of Samsung.
via ArsTechnica
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/94358/
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