Brazil´s antitrust regulator, Council for Economic Defense, has issued $1.3bn worth of fines to six cement producers that were allegedly part of a cartel in the Latin American country.
Brazil´s Votorantim Cimentos will be fined US$657m and Switzerland´s Holcim will receive a penalty of US$214m. Itabira Agro Industrial will be fined US$173m, Cimpor Cimentos will receive a penalty of US$126m; InterCement, a subsidiary of Camargo Corre a group, will be fined US$102m. In addition, Itambe would receive a fine of US$37.1m.
The regulator said that according to their findings, the cement cartel existed from 1986 – 2007 and it led to increased prices that were passed on to the consumers.