Chipmakers Fined by EU for Price-Fixing

[mikellini]

More than 7 years after the dissolution of a DRAM price-fixing cartel, over $400 million USD in fines were handed out to 9 of the 10 members of the cartel.The tenth member of the illegal operation, Micron, escaped without penalty because it was the company that originally blew the whistle in 2002. The nefarious activities lasted from 1998-2002, and... [ Read full article ]

[_dangtx_]

so many left to fine...:)

[chrisk]

The fines need to be greater than the value of the amount they ripped off from consumers. Otherwise, other companies will simply engage in similar practices, and happily pay any fines IF they get caught (and count the extra cash reaped from the illegal activities).

If folks could rob a million bucks from a bank, and only have to pay back half of it with no jail time....

[mikellini]

The size of the fine is one thing... but who pays it in the end? You and I. Recidivism in price-fixing is high, and any short-term benefit to consumers will be destroyed by future debacles such as this. If the EU was really serious about financial criminals, they would throw them in jail. According to Langus and Motta (2006), the only real effect of these fines is a short-term decrease in the price of shares for these companies. Many of the managers who participated in price-fixing keep their jobs and re-offend. Throw them in jail!

I wonder what the EU does with this "fine" money... it'd be nice to know what we're all paying for.

[enzo matrix]

I wonder if the price fixing is still going on...

[Mark]

So can I get compensated ? Where does this money go?

[thorn]

I find it funny that if Micron was part of this, they got away scot-free for blowing the whistle.

[Arinoth]

So... when we we all get our rebate cheques in the mail, oh wait...the consumer gets nothing

[Pansophic]

Originally Posted by Mark

So can I get compensated ? Where does this money go?

Well, you would have to move to Europe and ... and.. nope not a cent.

[b1lk1]

You know what, SOMEONE needs to stop the EU from gouging companies for extra money for themselves. This money never sees a single consumer and it DOES drive up prices. I am so sick and tired of the EU cartel sucking tech companies dry it is just pissing me completely off. This is not about anything other than the EU having the desire to put more money in the governing bodies pockets, nothing else. What a complete and utter farce......