Spain: National Assembly strikes down CNMC ruling against oil companies

Spain’s National Assembly, the highest legal authority in the land, has struck down the CNMC’s 2015 investigation against the country’s leading oil companies, Cepsa, Repsol, Disa, Galp and Meloil. The companies had been accused by the regulator of fixing the prices of gasoline across several regions.

The basis of the investigation relied on dawn raids carried out by the CNMC in 2015. Based on its findings, the agency imposed fines totalling approximately $32 million USD.

Although these companies have already been fined – with an appeal still pending before the National Assembly’s Contention Chamber – the Assembly has determined that the results of the previous contentious case should not affect an investigation into penal matters. However, the assembly has argued that the CNMC’s initial investigation was based “on dubious grounds”, and therefore the entire case should be shelved.

The thesis, presented by prosecutor Rosana Lledó, is that the case should be dismissed because the origins of the investigation were not properly cleared up.”… The entry into a social domicile for the purposes of these administrative inspections, without proper information regarding the rights pertaining to the affected, has harmed their right to the inviolability of the domicile.”

Full Content: El Español

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.