EU antitrust regulators on Thursday fined German arms maker Diehl 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) for taking part in a military hand grenade cartel with its rival Ruag over a period of 14 years.
Ruag dodged a 2.5-million-euro fine as it alerted the cartel to the EU competition enforcer.
The European Commission said the two companies split national markets across Europe between themselves for almost 14 years, with Ruag’s participation ending in 2021.
“Following this allocation, only the designated manufacturer was entitled to sell military hand grenades in its allocated territory unless the other party gave its consent,” the EU antitrust watchdog said in a statement.
It said privately-owned Diehl benefited from a 50% cut and an additional 10% reduction in its fine for cooperating with the regulator.
Companies face fines up to 10% of their global turnover if found guilty of antitrust violations.
