Federal Court Imposes a Fine of $370,000 For a Foreign-directed Conspiracy Under The Competition Act

OTTAWA, October 26, 1999 — The Competition Bureau announced today that the Federal Court of Canada imposed a fine of $370,000 under Canada's Competition Act for an international price fixing and market sharing conspiracy relating to vitamin B12.

Roussel Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Hoechst Marion Roussel S.A., pleaded guilty and was convicted for implementing a foreign-directed conspiracy. The conspiracy involved an agreement to fix prices and allocate customers for pharma-grade vitamin B12 between 1990 and 1997. Roussel will pay a fine of $370,000. The court also imposed a Prohibition Order on the firm prohibiting it from committing or repeating this offence in Canada.

Vitamin B12 is necessary for the normal and healthy growth and development of both humans and animals. The conspiracy involving vitamin B12 relates only to uses of the vitamin for pharmaceutical purposes.

"The investigation into international conspiracies involving vitamins is ongoing", said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Commissioner of Competition. "This conviction is another example of how the Bureau is using the full force of the law to ensure that Canadian consumers can benefit from a fair and competitive marketplace."

Total sales of all forms of vitamin B12 and its derivatives into Canada during the period of the offence were approximately $21.5 million with Roussel's sales of pharma-grade vitamin B12 at approximately $1.85 million.

The conviction of Roussel follows the fines imposed last month on a number of vitamin producers for other conspiracies in a wide range of vitamin products. Those fines totalled $84.5 million.

Copies of the documents filed before the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, in Toronto are available here:

Roussel Canada Inc.
Agreed Statement of Facts (PDF: 148 KB)
Indictment (PDF: 60 KB)

Certified copies of the filed documents may be obtained from the Federal Court Registry - (Court File number T-1830-99).

For further information, please contact:

Cynthia Grant
819-994-0349