Solvay, Akzo Plead Guilty

Both Solvay and Akzo Nobel have agreed to plead guilty and pay fines for participating in an international conspiracy to fix the price of hydrogen peroxide between July 1998 and December 2001.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Akzo has agreed to pay a $32 million fine. Solvay agreed to pay a fine of $41 million, which includes an admission that the company fixed the price of sodium perborate it sold to Procter & Gamble between June 2000 and December 2001.

???Protecting consumers from international price-fixing cartels is the division's highest priority,??? says Thomas O. Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department???s antitrust division. ???These types of cartels are harmful to our economy and to millions of American consumers.???

A year ago, the European Commission brought charges against 18 chemical firms, including Akzo, Solvay, Degussa, Kemira, and Arkema, for conspiring to fix prices of hydrogen peroxide and derivatives (C&EN, Feb. 7, 2005, page 11).