The Icelandic Competition Authority (ICA) has referred the cases of 11 employees of transport companies Eimskip and Samskip, including CEO of Eimskip Gylfi Sigfússon and CEO of Samskip Pálmar Óli Magnússon, to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for alleged illegal cooperation.
They are suspected of having shared customers, maintained high prices and hindered competition on the transport market for years, as reported in a special coverage on RÚV’s news magazine Kastljós last night. Both CEOs maintain their innocence.
About one year ago and again last summer, the ICA raided the facilities of Eimskip, Samskip and their subsidiaries. The two companies control two thirds of the transport market in Iceland and import the majority of consumer products sold in the country.
The ICA launched an investigation into the companies’ affairs after being tipped off about alleged illegal cooperation. The investigation confirmed the suspicion that the companies had abused their dominant position on the market, resulting in the lawsuit.
