Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa: 2,207 cases from 44 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by countryWhat for?
by area of lawAll areas of law
Who?
by company- Anonymised companies €454m 91 % · 17 cases
- Amica Chips S.p.A., Pata S.p.A., Preziosi Food S.p.A. €23.3m 5 % · 1 case
- Synadis Bio, Greenweez (mit Carrefour SA), ITM Entreprises (mit Les Mousquetaires), Les Comptoirs de la Bio €12.7m 3 % · 1 case
- VAFO PRAHA, s.r.o. €4.74m 1 % · 1 case
- McDonald’s Polska sp. z o.o.; 24/7 Communication sp. z o.o. (Auftragsverarbeiter) €4m 1 % · 1 case
- Lesy České republiky, s.p. (Lesy ČR) €710,383 0 % · 1 case
- Valio Oy €600,000 0 % · 1 case
- Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o. €245,982 0 % · 1 case
- Aurivo Dairy Ingredients Limited €200,000 0 % · 1 case
- Ατλάντα Αντιπροσωπείαι – Διανομαί Α.Ε. €127,314 0 % · 1 case
- 4 more€150,022
When?
per year, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | – |
| 2023 | 9 | €85.4m |
| 2024 | 11 | €374.5m |
| 2025 | 8 | €4.74m |
| 2026 | 6 | €36.8m |
37 cases
17 Sep 2026 Lesy České republiky, s.p. (Lesy ČR)Lesy ČR: 17.3 million CZK for export ban on wood chips €710,383
From July 2021 to July 2024, the state forestry company contractually prohibited a customer from actively and passively exporting wood chips and logging residues and secured the ban with a right of termination. The Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (Czech Office for the Protection of Competition, ÚOHS) considered this a restriction of competition by object under Czech and EU law and imposed 17.268 million CZK (first instance, not final).
State-owned companies are also subject to competition law – have export and resale bans in framework agreements legally reviewed before signing.
Anticompetitive clauses in supply contracts
- Authority / court
- Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (ÚOHS)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Tschechisches Wettbewerbsgesetz, Art. 101 AEUV (Exportverbot)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Voluntary termination immediately after proceedings were opened.
- Published
- 17 Sep 2026
Original amount 17,268,000 CZK, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Sep 2026.
- Lesy ČR banned wood-chip exports and were imposed a fine of more than CZK 17 million Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link
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27 Aug 2026 Flower bulb business failed to disclose hours of Polish seasonal workers – fine of around 95,600 EUR €95,588
A lily and tulip grower with an average of around 50 (at peak 75) employees, where Polish migrant workers are employed (anonymised in the judgment), was unable to produce sufficient records of hours worked and wages paid for 18 employees for September 2020 to February 2021. The Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid) imposed 118,000 EUR in 2024 (112,100 EUR after objection); the North Netherlands District Court (Rechtbank Noord-Nederland) reduced the fine to 95,587.50 EUR, partly because of measures taken and excessively long proceedings.
Companies employing seasonal workers must be able to document hours and wage payments for each person without gaps – missing records are fined separately for each employee.
- Authority / court
- Rechtbank Noord-Nederland (Bußgeld: Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid / Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Art. 18b Abs. 2 Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag (Wml)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- reduced
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Employees
- 50 to 249
- Mitigating circumstances
- Reduction of 12.5 % for appropriate measures, 5 % for delay and 2,500 EUR for exceeding the reasonable length of proceedings.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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25 Aug 2026 Elizabeta Promet d.o.o., SolinCroatia: 10,000 EUR against Elizabeta Promet for deliveries without a written contract €10,000
As a buyer with significant bargaining power, the company from Solin purchased agricultural and food products from two suppliers without written contracts. The Agencija za zaštitu tržišnog natjecanja (Croatian Competition Agency, AZTN) considered this an unfair trading practice and, taking mitigating circumstances into account, imposed 10,000 EUR (date = publication).
In food purchasing, the mere absence of written supply contracts is an infringement – a simple contract standard prevents this.
Written form for supply contracts in food purchasing
- Authority / court
- Agencija za zaštitu tržišnog natjecanja (AZTN)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Abuse of market power
- Legal basis
- Zakon o zabrani nepoštenih trgovačkih praksi u lancu opskrbe hranom (ZNTP)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Several mitigating circumstances taken into account
- Published
- 25 Aug 2026
- Provedba ZNTP-a: AZTN kaznio ELIZABETU PROMET d.o.o., Solin s 10.000,00 eura zbog nametanja nepoštenih trgovačkih praksi Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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6 Aug 2026 „Чили Хилс Фудс“ ООД (Chili Hills Foods OOD)Chili Hills Foods: 20,022 EUR for false copying allegations against competitor €20,022
From May 2024, in social media videos (campaign ‘Създавай! Не копирай!’), the company falsely accused a competing family business for hot chillies of having stolen its business, ideas and concept, and promoted the clips partly through paid advertising. The Комисия за защита на конкуренцията (Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition, KZK) regarded this as unfair damage to reputation (Art. 30 ZZK – Bulgarian Protection of Competition Act), imposed 4% of 2025 net turnover (500,555 EUR), i.e. 20,022 EUR, and ordered immediate cessation. Appeals have been lodged against the decision.
Allegations against competitors on social media are only permissible if based on verifiable facts – paid reach aggravates the sanction.
Statements about competitors on social media
- Authority / court
- Комисия за защита на конкуренцията (КЗК, Bulgarische Wettbewerbskommission)
- Area of law
- Competition law
- Legal basis
- Art. 30 ZZK (Schädigung des guten Rufs eines Wettbewerbers)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- under appeal
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 19 Aug 2026
- КЗК Публичен електронен регистър – Производство (Решение № 743 от 06.08.2026; Volltext als PDF im Register) Official register or notice
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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28 Apr 2026 Amica Chips S.p.A., Pata S.p.A., Preziosi Food S.p.A.Italy: 23.3 million EUR against Amica Chips, Pata and Preziosi Food over snack cartel €23.3m
In a secret, continuing agreement, three manufacturers of salty snacks and crisps divided up among themselves the supply of private-label snacks to food retailers. Fines: Amica Chips 8,239,210 EUR, Pata 7,555,387 EUR, Preziosi Food 7,503,550 EUR; this was the first time Italy's competition authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, AGCM) applied its settlement procedure.
Retailers' tenders for private labels are competition – coordinated sham bids to retailers constitute a cartel.
Sham bids in retailers' private-label tenders
- Authority / court
- Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 101 AEUV; Art. 14-quater Gesetz 287/1990 (Settlement)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Leniency reduction for Pata and Amica Chips; 10 % settlement discount for all
- Published
- 28 Apr 2026
- I871 - The Italian Competition Authority fines Amica Chips, Pata and Preziosi Food over €23 million Press release of an authority
- AGCM - Sanzioni per oltre 23 milioni di euro ad Amica Chips, Pata e Preziosi Food Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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16 Apr 2026 Synadis Bio, Greenweez (mit Carrefour SA), ITM Entreprises (mit Les Mousquetaires), Les Comptoirs de la BioFrance: 12.67 million EUR over allocation of distribution channels for organic food €12.7m
Through the association Synadis Bio, market participants ensured for more than seven years that organic brands were not sold simultaneously in specialist organic shops and in conventional supermarkets, in order to prevent price comparisons (decision 26-D-05). Fines: Synadis Bio 10 million EUR, Greenweez/Carrefour 1.85 million EUR, ITM 740,000 EUR, Les Comptoirs de la Bio 80,000 EUR.
Association decisions that tie members to particular distribution channels amount to market sharing – even if they are justified as a quality or positioning policy.
Association rules to foreclose distribution channels
- Authority / court
- Autorité de la concurrence
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. L.420-1 Code de commerce, Art. 101 Abs. 1 AEUV; Bußgeldbemessung nach Art. L.464-2 Code de commerce
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- under appeal
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 16 Apr 2026
- L'Autorité de la concurrence sanctionne à hauteur de 12,67 millions d'euros (Entscheidung 26-D-05) Press release of an authority
- Décision 26-D-05 (version publique) Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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18 Dec 2025 Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o.ÚOHS: CZK 6m fine for Pivovary Staropramen over excessive payment terms €245,982
The ÚOHS (Czech Office for the Protection of Competition) fined the brewer Pivovary Staropramen, as a buyer with significant market power, 6,000,000 CZK under the act on significant market power and unfair trading practices in the agri-food sector. Between June 2023 and August 2024 the brewer applied payment terms of up to 215 days instead of the permitted 30 days to four suppliers through 60 late payments. Because of a settlement, the announced fine of 7,500,000 CZK was reduced by 20%.
Purchasing and accounting must technically safeguard the statutory 30-day term for agri-food supplies instead of steering payments by liquidity.
Payment terms towards agri-food suppliers
- Authority / court
- Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (ÚOHS)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Abuse of market power
- Legal basis
- § 4 Abs. 1 und 2 lit. k, § 8 Abs. 1 lit. a, Abs. 3 und 6 Zákon č. 395/2009 Sb. (Gesetz über erhebliche Marktmacht)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement (narovnání) with admission: 20% reduction of the 7,500,000 CZK fine announced in the statement of objections.
Original amount 6,000,000 CZK, converted at the ECB reference rate of 18 Dec 2025.
- ÚOHS, Rozhodnutí č. j. ÚOHS-49420/2025/400, sp. zn. ÚOHS-S0597/2025/TS, Brno 18. 12. 2025 Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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18 Dec 2025 Pioneer Hi-Bred Italia Sementi s.r.l.Pioneer Hi-Bred Italia Sementi: 120,000 EUR for monitoring field staff's driving style €120,000
At the instruction of a group company based in Switzerland, the seed company had telematics devices installed in company cars that also recorded private journeys and assigned employees scores for their driving behaviour. Italy's data protection authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) found breaches of transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation and employee protection rules, imposed 120,000 EUR and ordered the deletion of the data on private journeys.
Group-wide telematics requirements must be assessed against local employment and data protection law before roll-out – especially where vehicles are also used privately.
Employee monitoring through telematics
- Authority / court
- Garante per la protezione dei dati personali
- Area of law
- Data protection · Employee data
- Legal basis
- DSGVO Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. a-c, 6 Abs. 1 lit. f, 13, 28, 88; Codice privacy Art. 2-quaterdecies, 113, 114
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Small number of data subjects (five employees), immediate suspension of the processing.
- Provvedimento del 18 dicembre 2025 [10213711] (Reg. 755/2025) Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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17 Dec 2025 Asparagus farm without reliable working time records: Raad van State upholds 11,250 EUR €11,250
In May/June 2022, the working time records of an asparagus business (anonymised in the judgment) deviated structurally from the hours actually worked; among other things, Sunday work went unrecorded, so compliance with working and rest times could not be checked. The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Dutch Council of State (Raad van State, Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak) upheld the fine of 11,250 EUR, imposed in 2023 without prior warning, including the increase factor of 1.5.
Working time records that do not reflect actual hours are treated as missing – businesses are then sanctioned without prior warning.
Correct recording of working and rest times
- Authority / court
- Raad van State, Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak (Bußgeld: Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Working time
- Legal basis
- Art. 4:3 Abs. 1 Arbeidstijdenwet
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Raad van State, ECLI:NL:RVS:2025:6142 vom 17.12.2025 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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26 Aug 2025 Acqua Minerale San Benedetto S.p.A.AGCM: San Benedetto removes ‘CO2 neutral’ claim on Ecogreen bottles Other
Labels, the website and commercials for the Ecogreen line claimed that bottle production caused no greenhouse gas emissions and even had a positive effect on the environment. Following an intervention by Italy's competition and consumer protection authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, AGCM) (moral suasion, case PS12596), the mineral water producer removed the claim ‘impatto zero CO2’ in mid-July 2025, revised nature motifs and added a QR code linking to sustainability information.
‘Zero emissions’ promises on packaging can hardly be substantiated; it is better to present specific reduction steps transparently.
Climate claims on packaging
- Authority / court
- Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Misleading environmental and sustainability claims
- Legal basis
- Codice del Consumo (unlautere Geschäftspraktiken), Verfahren PS12596
- Action
- Other
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Voluntary amendment of all labels and advertising materials following the authority's intervention.
- Published
- 26 Aug 2025
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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13 Aug 2025 Portugal: 30,000 EUR for exclusive tying of banana growers on Madeira €30,000
A dominant company for the collection, distribution and marketing of Madeira bananas (name not given) required producers to sign exclusivity declarations. In a settlement procedure (PRC/2025/6), it ended the practice and paid 30,000 EUR (date = press release).
Dominant buyers must not tie suppliers through exclusivity clauses – even small regional markets are being watched.
- Authority / court
- Autoridade da Concorrência (AdC)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Abuse of market power
- Legal basis
- Lei da Concorrência (Lei n.º 19/2012), Art. 11.º; Art. 102 AEUV
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement (transação), full cooperation, immediate cessation, short duration
- Published
- 13 Aug 2025
- AdC sanciona empresa por abuso de posição dominante na comercialização de banana da Madeira Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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23 Jun 2025 McDonald’s Polska sp. z o.o.; 24/7 Communication sp. z o.o. (Auftragsverarbeiter)McDonald’s Polska and service provider: PLN 17.1m after staff rotas were publicly accessible €4m
Data of employees of McDonald’s and its franchisees from the rota module (including names, PESEL or passport numbers, working hours, positions) sat in a publicly accessible directory. UODO found that McDonald’s Polska had carried out no risk analysis, implemented no appropriate safeguards and not effectively supervised its processor, and imposed fines of PLN 1,632,063, 13,600,528 and 1,700,066 (PLN 16,932,657 in total) and a reprimand; the processor 24/7 Communication received PLN 94,286, 42,429 and 47,143 (PLN 183,858), making PLN 17,116,515 overall. The decision is not final.
Outsourcing HR processes does not shift responsibility: a risk analysis, access to the system configuration and audits actually carried out at the provider are mandatory.
Protecting employee data in outsourced HR systems
- Authority / court
- Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Danych Osobowych (UODO)
- Area of law
- Data protection · Employee data
- Legal basis
- Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. c und f, Art. 5 Abs. 2, Art. 25 Abs. 1, Art. 28 Abs. 1, Art. 32 Abs. 1 und 2, Art. 38 Abs. 1 DSGVO sowie Art. 34 Abs. 1 und 3 lit. c DSGVO (Verwarnung) (Verantwortlicher); Art. 28 Abs. 3 lit. c, Abs. 4 und 9, Art. 32 Abs. 1 und 2, Art. 38 Abs. 1 DSGVO (Auftragsverarbeiter)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- under appeal
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 21 Jul 2025
Original amount 17,116,515 PLN, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jun 2025.
- Decyzja Prezesa UODO DKN.5130.4179.2020 vom 23.06.2025 (pseudonymisiert) Decision of an authority
- UODO: Za ochronę danych osobowych są odpowiedzialni zarówno administrator, jak i podmiot przetwarzający Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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2 May 2025 Ατλάντα Αντιπροσωπείαι – Διανομαί Α.Ε.Greece: 127,314 EUR against breakfast cereal distributor Atlanta for resale price maintenance €127,314
From March to August 2021, the distribution partner for breakfast cereals set resale prices, which retailers and supermarket chains largely adopted. The Επιτροπή Ανταγωνισμού (Hellenic Competition Commission) accepted the settlement proposal and, by Decision 878/2025, imposed a reduced fine of 127,314 EUR; date = press release.
Even short periods of imposing prices on retailers carry fines – sales teams must know the line between recommendation and requirement.
Resale price maintenance towards retailers
- Authority / court
- Επιτροπή Ανταγωνισμού (Hellenic Competition Commission)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 1 Gesetz 3959/2011; Art. 101 AEUV
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement procedure with fine reduction
- Published
- 2 May 2025
- Δελτίο Τύπου – Πρόστιμο σε επιχείρηση η οποία διακινεί δημητριακά πρωινού κατόπιν Διαδικασίας Διευθέτησης Διαφορών Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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27 Mar 2025 Aurivo Dairy Ingredients LimitedAurivo Dairy Ingredients: EUR 200,000 in fines for odour and wastewater offences €200,000
The company pleaded guilty to repeatedly breaching conditions of its industrial emissions licence at its Ballaghaderreen plant in 2022: odour nuisance, exceedance of limits for effluent and cooling water, impairment of the River Lung and late incident notifications to the EPA and Inland Fisheries Ireland. The court imposed fines totalling €200,000 for the two notification breaches and additionally ordered €150,000 to be paid over ten years to local community groups and Inland Fisheries Ireland for the river , plus investigation costs. Only the fines of EUR 200,000 are recorded as the amount.
Environmental incidents must be reported to the authority immediately through the prescribed channels; here it was the late notifications that proved most costly.
- Authority / court
- Sligo Circuit Criminal Court (Anklage: Director of Public Prosecutions nach Ermittlungen der Environmental Protection Agency)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Emissions and permits
- Legal basis
- Bedingungen 5.1, 5.3, 11.3 und 11.5 der Industrieemissionsgenehmigung P0802-03
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 27 Mar 2025
- EPA: DPP Prosecutes Aurivo Dairy Ingredients Limited (P0802-03) Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Direct link
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31 Oct 2024 VAFO PRAHA, s.r.o.ÚOHS: CZK 120m fine for VAFO PRAHA over resale price maintenance for pet food €4.74m
The Czech competition authority ÚOHS (Office for the Protection of Competition) fined the pet food manufacturer VAFO PRAHA 120,121,000 CZK in a settlement procedure (narovnání). From January 2013 to September 2021 the company fixed minimum retail prices with 30 customers for dog and cat food of the Brit and Carnilove brands, monitored compliance and also responded to deviations with sanctions, infringing the Czech Competition Act and Article 101 TFEU; further implementation of such agreements was prohibited.
Sales teams must never enforce or monitor recommended retail prices; an effective compliance programme reduces the fine but does not replace clean distribution practice.
Resale price maintenance in distribution
- Authority / court
- Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže (ÚOHS)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 3 Abs. 1, § 7 Abs. 1, § 22a Abs. 1 lit. b und Abs. 2 Zákon č. 143/2001 Sb. (ZOHS); Art. 101 Abs. 1 AEUV
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- Voluntary termination before proceedings began and notice to customers that they set their prices freely; cooperation beyond the legal obligation; a compliance programme assessed as sufficiently effective; 20% reduction for the settlement.
Original amount 120,121,000 CZK, converted at the ECB reference rate of 31 Oct 2024.
- ÚOHS, Rozhodnutí č. j. ÚOHS-41386/2024/871, sp. zn. ÚOHS-S0480/2022/KD, Brno 31. 10. 2024 Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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30 Oct 2024 Valio OyValio: EUR 600,000 for breaching a merger condition in the Heinon Tukku deal €600,000
The Markkinaoikeus (Market Court, Finland) imposed a penalty payment of 600,000 EUR on the dairy company Valio Oy for breaching the key condition attached to the 2021 clearance of its acquisition of the wholesaler Heinon Tukku: staff responsible for pricing and profitability of Valio products had access to competitors' sensitive purchase prices for about a year. The authority had sought 900,000 EUR; the Korkein hallinto-oikeus (Supreme Administrative Court) dismissed its appeal on 16 January 2026.
Behavioural conditions attached to a merger clearance must be implemented technically – confidentiality undertakings do not replace access restrictions.
Implementing behavioural conditions from merger clearances
- Authority / court
- Markkinaoikeus (Marktgericht) auf Antrag des KKV; bestätigt durch Korkein hallinto-oikeus
- Area of law
- Competition law · Merger control
- Legal basis
- Kilpailulaki (948/2011) 25 § und 28 § (Vollzug entgegen einer Freigabeauflage), 13 §
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Culpability
- negligent
- Mitigating circumstances
- Temporary, negligent breach; the other conditions were complied with.
- Markkinaoikeus, päätös nro 607/2024, 30.10.2024 (Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto / Valio Oy) Court decision
- Korkein hallinto-oikeus 16.1.2026/97 (ECLI:FI:KHO:2026:T97) Court decision
- KKV: Korkein hallinto-oikeus vahvisti markkinaoikeuden Valiolle määräämän 600 000 euron seuraamusmaksun Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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24 Sep 2024 a French cured meats groupCured meats producer: EUR 900,000 for obstructing a competition authority inspection (under appeal) €900,000
During an inspection on 16 November 2023 as part of a cartel investigation in the cured meats sector, the investigators, according to the Autorité de la concurrence, knowingly received incorrect information from the company's management. The authority considered this an obstruction of the investigation creating a risk that evidence would be lost, and imposed EUR 900,000 jointly and severally on the three group companies concerned. The decision has been appealed. The decision is not final.
During inspections by competition authorities, management and the legal department must cooperate truthfully; even knowingly incorrect information given to investigators is punished as obstruction.
Correct conduct during dawn raids
- Authority / court
- Autorité de la concurrence
- Area of law
- Competition law
- Legal basis
- Art. L. 464-2 V Abs. 2 Code de commerce (Behinderung von Ermittlungsmaßnahmen)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- under appeal
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Liability of senior managers
- According to the authority, the obstruction originated from the company's management level; it took this into account when setting the fine.
- Published
- 9 Oct 2024
- Autorité de la concurrence, Liste des décisions et avis (Übersicht) (Entscheidung 2024) Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 7 Oct 2026 · Version 2 · Company name anonymised since 24 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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18 Sep 2024 an agri-food groupAgri-food group: 21 million EUR for concealed takeover of two large bakeries upheld €21m
In 2013, an agri-food group acquired control of two large Slovak bakeries, but had one of them held covertly by a third party for two years in order to circumvent the notification threshold; the authority had rejected an earlier takeover in 2011. The Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (PMÚ SR) upheld the fine of 21 million EUR; final since 27 September 2024.
Staggered acquisitions or acquisitions concealed via third parties are aggregated; circumvention structures increase the fine.
- Authority / court
- Protimonopolný úrad Slovenskej republiky (PMÚ SR)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Merger control
- Legal basis
- Slowakisches Wettbewerbsschutzgesetz (Nichtanmeldung und Vollzug eines Zusammenschlusses)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Culpability
- intentional
- Published
- 8 Oct 2024
- PMÚ SR, Startseite mit Meldungen (Entscheidung 2024) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 18 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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10 Sep 2024 a French mineral water bottler belonging to a food groupÉpinal: environmental CJIP with a mineral water bottler for €2m €2m
The bottler used nine boreholes at two sites for which no sufficiently evidenced water-law authorisation existed, and applied treatments not permitted for natural mineral water (including UV, activated carbon and microfilters), which was prosecuted as deception (tromperie). In the environmental CJIP (convention judiciaire d'intérêt public, French deferred prosecution agreement) validated on 10 September 2024, the company undertook to pay a public interest fine of 2,000,000 EUR, to fund renaturation measures of up to 1.1 million EUR and to compensate associations.
Legacy authorisations for water abstraction and production processes must be regularly checked against current law, especially for protected product designations.
Water abstraction permits and permitted treatment of mineral water
- Authority / court
- Parquet d'Épinal (Procureur de la République); Validierung durch den Präsidenten des Tribunal judiciaire d'Épinal
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Emissions and permits
- Legal basis
- Art. L. 173-1, L. 214-1, L. 214-3 Code de l'environnement; Tromperie (Code de la consommation); Art. 41-1-2, 41-1-3 Code de procédure pénale
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Mitigating circumstances
- According to the CJIP, the company itself disclosed the impermissible treatments to the authorities in 2021, cooperated fully and remedied the failings; no health risk was found.
Checked against the official source on 2 Oct 2026 · Company name anonymised since 10 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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10 Jul 2024 seven Spanish food wholesalersCNMC: three cartels in food supplies to public institutions sanctioned €3.14m
The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC, Spanish competition and markets authority) sanctioned three cartels through which food wholesalers shared out public tenders to supply hospitals, care homes for the elderly, prisons and military facilities, partly through a joint profit pool and undisclosed subcontracting. The fines on the companies total 3,137,500 EUR (per company 2,448,000, 346,000, 170,000, 65,000, 60,000, 45,000 and 3,500 EUR). The decision was forwarded to the Junta Consultiva de Contratación Pública del Estado (State public procurement advisory board).
Subcontracting to competitors and exchanging margin or bidding information in public tenders are typical warning signs of bid rigging and belong in every compliance review.
Bid rigging and information exchange in public contracts
- Authority / court
- Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 1 und Art. 62.4.a) Ley 15/2007 de Defensa de la Competencia; für das erste Kartell zusätzlich Art. 101 AEUV
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Liability of senior managers
- Measures against individuals are not reported here.
- Published
- 16 Jul 2024
- CNMC, Pressemitteilungen (Übersicht) (Entscheidung 2024) Decision of an authority
Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Company name anonymised since 10 Jul 2026 · Direct link