A consultancy company has, for the first time, been slapped with a significant fine for cartel involvement by Europe’s competition regulators – even though its alleged role was in organising the market-rigging rather than participating directly.

According to the European Commission, Zurich-based AC Treuhand prepared the operational framework for cartels involving “heat stabilisers”, which are used as additives in the plastics industry. It then monitored implementation of the illegal agreements by nine companies – including Holland’s Akzo, France’s Elf-Aquitaine and Switzerland’s Ciba.