European Commission fines Sotheby's for fee fixing

The European Commission today fined auction house Sotheby's €20.4 million for illicitly fixing fees with rival Christie's.

The European Commission today fined auction house Sotheby's €20.4 million for illicitly fixing fees with rival Christie's.

The European Union's executive branch said in April that the two firms might have violated EU anti-trust legislation by colluding to fix commission fees and other terms of sale between 1993 and 2000.

Sotheby's was found guilty but Christie's was not fined because it co-operated with Brussels and helped to expose "this highly damaging cartel", commission spokeswoman Ms Amelia Torres told reporters.

AFP