Canada levies fines against Bayer Group for role in international cartels
On October 30, 2007, the Competition Bureau announced that the Bayer Group pled guilty to three counts under section 45 of the Competition Act in respect of its role in three international price fixing conspiracies in the rubber and chemicals industry. Bayer AG was fined C$2.9 million for its part in a rubber chemicals conspiracy and C$400,000 for its role in a nitrile rubber conspiracy. Bayer Corporation, a wholly owned US subsidiary of Bayer AG, was fined C$345,000 for participation in a conspiracy to fix the price of aliphatic polyester polyols made from adipic acid. In all, the fines totalled C$3.645 million. Significant fines have also been levied against several companies in respect of these cartels in the United States and Europe.
