MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition discovered a price-fixing cartel made up of six major oil firms in Bulgaria's retail fuel market, media reported Monday.
The six companies, including LUKoil Bulgaria, Shell Bulgaria, Eko Bulgaria, Petrol, Nis Petrol and OMV, exchanged information on prices and sales and worked out a joint pricing policy, which is a violation of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the commission's statement said, according to the Sofia Globe newspaper.
The commission's accusation cannot be appealed, but the companies have the right to present their arguments in written form within 30 days and ask for an open court hearing.
The investigation into oil firms, opened by the commission in February, targeted two more firms at the time, Rompetrol Group and the LUKoil Neftochim refinery, which were not mentioned in Monday's statement, the newspaper added.
