Italy's antitrust regulator has fined energy group Eni and five other oil companies operating in the country for practices restricting fair competition in the sale of fuel for trucks, the watchdog said on Friday.
The regulator said that fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.09 billion) had been levied against Eni and ExxonMobil-owned Esso, plus Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil.
The companies were found to have operated as a cartel between January 2020 and June 2023 to set the price of the biofuel component contributing to the overall cost of fuel, the watchdog said in a statement. The value of this important price component rose from about 20 euros per cubic metre in 2019 to about 60 euros in 2023, it said.
The body added that what it described as a "complex investigation" was launched after receiving a tip-off from a whistleblower.
The authority imposed fines of 336 million euros on Eni, 173 million euros on Q8, 164 million euros on Ip, 129 million euros on Esso, 91 million euros on Tamoil and 44 million euros on Saras.
Eni and IP did not respond immediately to requests for comment and Reuters was unable to contact the other companies immediately.
($1 = 0.8562 euros)
(Reuters - Reporting by Gavin JonesEditing by David Goodman)