The European Commission has confirmed it has carried out a series of unannounced inspections on several smart-chip producers in a number of EU countries.
The inspections started on 21 October after evidence emerged that the undisclosed companies where participating in cartel-style activity, the Commission said on 7 January.
The smart-chip companies, which manufacture chips used in mobile phone SIM cards, bank cards and identity cards, “may have violated EC Treaty rules prohibiting practices such as price fixing, customer allocation and the exchange of commercially sensitive information”, the Commission said.
Unannounced inspections are the first step the Commission carries out when investigating suspected cartel activity.
“The fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour”, the Commission said.
The investigation is open-ended with no fixed timetable.
