Australian Court Hits Photocopying Paper "Cartel" with $4.2 Million Fine
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The Australian Federal Court has handed down $4.2 million in penalties to two foreign companies that ran a purported price fixing "club" in Asia, according to a report this week by Melbourne-based Smart Company. Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett found Singaporean company Asia Pulp & Paper Co. and Indonesia's PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper were part of a group of competitors called the "Triple A Club," which reportedly held meetings to fix the prices of paper across the region, including Australia.
Bennett found the "AAA Club meetings involved systematic, sophisticated, and long-running cartel arrangements between the participants" and said "the cartel participants were seeking to achieve stability in pricing by avoiding competition among themselves." She ordered the Singaporean company to pay a penalty of $3.4 million, with the Indonesian firm, Indah Kiat, was ordered to pay $800,000, Smart Company reported.
In January 2010, the Federal Court ordered another Singaporean company, APRIL Fine Paper Trading Pte, and its Australian marketing arm, to pay $4 million in penalties for their involvement in the AAA Club and $250,000 toward court costs. Asia Pulp & Paper and Indah Kiat were also ordered to pay $300,000 toward court costs.
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