Confectionery company Mondelez International has been fined €337.5 million ($553 million) for anticompetitive practices in the EU.
The company, which owns brands including Toblerone, Oreo, Ritz and Cadbury, was involved in 22 unfair trade practices between 2019 and 2020, The Guardian quoted the European Commission.
Wholesalers, shoppers and traders were prevented from buying chocolate bars in another member state where they could be up to 40 per cent cheaper or selling into a market where they could get a higher price, the commission explained.
The commission found Mondelez had prevented 11 distributors from making such sales either by imposing contractual restrictions or by asking them to request permission on a case-by-case basis.
The EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the breaches are “blatantly illegal” and “very serious”.
“This case is about the price of groceries, which is a key concern to European citizens – and even more obvious in times of very high inflation, where many are in a cost of living crisis,” Vestager added.
