Opting-Out-Of-Settlement Could Be Costly: Commission Fines Largest Nordic Ethanol Producer €48 million For Manipulating Ethanol Benchmarks

On December 7, 2023, the Commission imposed a fine of almost €48 million on Lantmännen ek för, the largest producer of ethanol in the Nordic region, for participating in a 1.5-year cartel manipulating the wholesale price of ethanol in the EEA.

S&P Global Platts (“Platts”) publishes reference ethanol prices calculated through a “Market on Close” (“MOC”) price assessment process, which is primarily based on bids, offers, and transaction information gathered during a “MOC Window” (generally 16:00-16:30 London time).  Lantmännen coordinated with competitors to limit the supply of ethanol to the Rotterdam area during the MOC Window, which artificially increased the ethanol benchmarks during the assessment window.

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