The EU Commission fines a cartel of British sugar producers and merchants (Tate & Lyte / Napier Brown / James Budgett)

"The Commission fines a cartel of British sugar producers and merchants"* On 14 October 1998, the Commission adopted a Decision by which fines have been imposed on the sugar producers British Sugar and Tate & Lyle, as well as the sugar merchants Napier Brown and James Budgett for violation of Article 85(1) of the EC Treaty. The Commission found that the companies have pursued the object of restricting competition through a co-ordination of their pricing policy on the white granulated sugar market in Great Britain. The Commission therefore imposed fines of 39.6 million ECU on British Sugar, 7 million ECU on Tate & Lyle, 1.8 million ECU on Napier Brown and 1.8 million ECU on James Budgett. The Decision concerns the collaborative strategy of higher pricing by British Sugar, Tate