The European Union had a second straight record-breaking year in antitrust fines, levying €1.9 billion in fines in 2013, according to a global survey released this week.

International law firm Allen & Overy reviewed fines levied last year by seven jurisdictions, including the EU and the United States, and found that the EU led the way. The bloc topped its record-breaking 2012 total of €1.7 billion. Last year's fines were more than double those imposed by U.S. regulators, which came in at a value of €756 million or just over U.S. $1 billion.

The Global Cartel Enforcement 2013 Year in Review found that while fewer new investigations were launched during the year, the levels of the fines imposed increased by 10.5 percent overall compared to the previous year. Allen & Overy said the increase was due primarily to the large-scale settlements in the benchmark-rigging scandal known as LIBOR, and the auto parts cartels. Both of those investigations are continuing, so the era of record-setting fines is likely to continue.

The majority of the fines imposed by the EU stemmed from the LIBOR/Euribor investigation, which led to a combined €1.7 billion fine for six banks involved in the conspiracy to manipulate the LIBOR and Euribor benchmark interest rates. The report noted that the EU would have collected even greater fines in the case had it not been for the immunity given to UBS and Barclays for cooperating in the case. The fines against UBS and Barclays were scheduled to be €2.5 billion and €690 million respectively. Other banks benefited from reduced fines due to cooperation in the case.

Other EU fines included €142 million for wire harness suppliers in the auto parts cartel investigation, which is continuing, and €29 million for North Sea shrimp traders.

The firm predicts another “significant year” for enforcement actions against cartels, particularly those involving the financial sector. “New investigations into the financial services sector emerged in 2013 that will further unfold in 2014, with top U.S. and EU officials warning that these latest investigations may be the most significant yet,” the report stated.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has said that once the LIBOR/Euribor investigation has ended, the commission will devote more resources to the ongoing investigation into foreign exchange rate manipulation, which represents another global cartel case.

Also this week, the commission announced it has launched an antitrust investigation into U.S. film and television studios for their licensing agreements with pay-TV providers in the EU. Currently studios sign licensing agreements with European providers in individual countries. The commission will look into whether those deals prevent the goal of a single, EU-wide market as well as whether consumers are getting limited access to content offered by other providers.

John Terzaken, a partner with Allen & Overy and lead author of the report, gave credit for the record-setting fines to Almunia's tough antitrust stance, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Almunia has been incredibly aggressive in terms of handing down fines, and using those as a tool to deter and to punish,” Terzaken was quoted as saying.

Regulators should expect to face a host of challenges this year, the Allen & Overy report said. Tighter purse strings necessitated by the financial crisis will force fewer and less in-depth investigations. Regulators will have to prioritize.

The report also noted the difficulties regulators will face when cartel activities involve multinational companies operating in multiple jurisdictions with possibilities of overlapping prosecutions. It pointed to the “globalization of antitrust enforcement,” national laws with an enforcement arm that reaches beyond a country's borders, and the possibility of duplicative penalties.

“Matters such as auto parts and LIBOR highlight the problems posed by the regulatory enforcement thicket that now exists in complex global matters. Multiple agencies in different countries are more frequently pursuing and punishing the same basic conduct, but under different laws,” Terzaken said in a statement. “Moving forward, authorities need to find a way to coordinate global enforcement matters, to ensure appropriate deterrence without tipping the balance towards over-punishment. Multinational corporations in turn need to maintain a global perspective on cartel liability.”

The law firm praised several Member States for successful prosecutions by their national competition authorities, including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. It also pointed to sizable fines imposed on financial institutions by regulators in Turkey and Hungary.

Outside the EU, cartel enforcement dipped in Russia, according to the report. The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service issued U.S. $20.3 million in fines in 2013, compared to U.S. $31 million the previous year. Two cartel fines were issued last year, U.S. $16.8 million against a group of seven chemical producers and U.S. $3.5 million against a group of fishing cooperatives. The head of the authority's anti-cartel department has said the agency will continue taking a look at the chemical sector in particular, according to Allen & Overy.

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