General Court of the European Union upholds $56M ethanol price fixing fine against Lantmännen

In Luxembourg, Courthouse News reports the General Court of the European Union has upheld the European Commission’s $56 million fine against Swedish agricultural cooperative Lantmännen for trade practices that distorted the European ethanol market by participating in a price fixing cartel. Lantmännen claimed the staggered investigation process used by the European Commission was unfair because Abengoa settled early into the investigation, making Lantmännen look guilty but the court said the EC followed procedure and threw out the claims made by the Swedish coop.