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Court rejects cartel challenge by top firms

Luxemburg - German electronics giant Siemens must pay €396.56m ($545.8m) for participating in a cartel for electricity grid equipment, the EU's top court ruled Thursday, confirming also the roles of Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Toshiba.

In 2007, the European Commission imposed hefty fines after finding that eleven companies in Europe and Asia had colluded over prices on gas insulated switchgear -heavy electrical equipment used to control energy flows in electricity grids.

At the time, the overall fine of €750.7m was the second-highest penalty ever imposed by the EU's competition watchdog. Siemens, Mitsubishi and Toshiba were among those who challenged the fines.

A lower EU court dismissed Siemens' appeal in 2011, but scrapped the fines for Mitsubishi and Toshiba, as they had been calculated incorrectly. But it did confirm that the Japanese companies had participated in the cartel.

All three companies appealed the 2011 ruling. On Thursday, the European Court of Justice rejected the appeals.

"The fine imposed by the commission on Siemens AG thus becomes final, as does the commission's finding that Mitsubishi and Toshiba participated in the cartel," the court wrote.

The commission, the EU's executive, has since recalculated the fines for the Japanese companies, setting them at €74.82m for Mitsubishi and €56.79m for Toshiba, plus a joint €4.65m.

Appeals are underway over these new penalties.


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