MILAN – The Competition Authority of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg issued, on July 17, 2023, its largest-ever fine of €3 million. Coffee importer Peter Hennen was hit with the fine for colluding with 13 retailers over five years to set fixed consumer prices in violation of Luxembourg and EU competition laws, the authority said on Monday.
In a press release published on Monday July 24, the Competition Authority declares that it has sanctioned certain anti-competitive practices that were implemented on Luxembourg territory in the coffee distribution sector.
The Authority has the power to fine companies who cheat the public benefits of economic competition, the President Pierre Barthelmé told public radio station 100.7 last week.
Searches and seizures in the premises of companies in the Peter Hennen group as well as numerous interviews with other companies and individuals convinced the Authority of the illegal agreement.
One the companies involved in the scheme, PC-Tank, which operates the Esso service station network, received leniency for collaborating in the investigation.
On March 23, 2021, the company admitted “having participated in a vertical cartel on the retail resale prices of coffee supplied by Peter Hennen, on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and for a period from at least 2002 until March 23, 2021.
