THE GENERAL Court of the European Union has recently affirmed the EU Commission’s verdict and penalty involving the suit against companies in cartel, including the Trelleborg Group.
While Trelleborg had stated its provisions for process and litigation costs as well as the penalty based on an analysis of the legal position that gave rise to appealing the European Commission’s decision, the General Court nixes the previous provisions as insufficient and demanded Trelleborg to allocate an additional SEK155 million, which will be recognised as a non-recurring cost in the second quarter of 2013.
“We do not share the General Court of the EU’s view of the legal position, but regardless of this fact, the judgment means that we can finally put an end to an issue that we have lived with for many years and we can now move forward,” said Peter Nilsson, President and CEO, Trelleborg.
According to Trelleborg, in 2007, its subsidiary was accused of involvement in a marine hose cartel, prompting the European Commission to imposed EUR24.5 million penalty on the company in 2009.
Immediate action was taken in connection with the accusations, and the individuals who were later found guilty of involvement in the cartel case, despite the Group’s clear guidelines and zero tolerance approach to this type of activity, were then immediately relieved of their positions.