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CRIME

Spanish antitrust watchdog probes energy giant Repsol

Spain's antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it had opened a probe into oil giant Repsol over possible abuse of its dominant position in the country's fuel market.

Published: 26 December 2023 13:00 CET
US-ENERGY-OIL-CLIMATE
Josu Jon Imaz, CEO of Repsol, pauses while speaking during CERAWeek, an international energy conference, in Houston, Texas, on March 6th, 2023. Photo by Mark Felix / AFP

Repsol may have offered additional discounts at its petrol stations between March and December 2022 while raising wholesale prices for rivals such as independent petrol stations, the CNMC, as the watchdog is known, said in a statement.

This practice “would have had the ability to erode the commercial margins of those competitors and limit competition in retail distribution,” it added.

The watchdog said it opened the probe against Spain’s second-biggest oil company after complaints were filed by two associations representing independent fuel station operators.

Repsol “categorically rejects” the accusations, a company spokesman said, adding the firm “scrupulously respects the rules of competition” in Spain.

The discounts were put in place “to help consumers” in the face of price increases caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he added.

The watchdog has already opened investigations into Cepsa, Spain’s second-largest oil company, and British energy giant BP on suspicion they carried out similar anticompetitive practices in the energy market.

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CRIME

Europol bust cocaine gang with arrests in Marbella and Canary Islands

Europol said Thursday that a crime ring smuggling drugs into Europe had collapsed as the result of an investigation involving 40 arrests and the seizure of eight tonnes of cocaine.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:52 CEST
Europol bust cocaine gang with arrests in Marbella and Canary Islands

The Hague-based European police force said the entire cartel, whose leaders were based in Turkey and Dubai, had been dealt a major blow after a final set of arrests Wednesday.

The vast three-year-long operation involved police forces from a dozen countries and ranged from Brazil to Spain via Turkey.

According to Europol, the final phase of the operation began with the discovery in August 2023 by the Spanish Guardia Civil of 700 kilos (1,540 pounds)of cocaine in a boat off the Canary Islands, crewed by Croat and Italian citizens.

After exchanging their findings with other police forces, the investigators found links with previous seizures which led to the identification of the masterminds.

In all, 40 people were arrested in six countries, including two top Croat members of the network, who were arrested at the end of 2023 in Istanbul, police said.

The last four arrests took place on Wednesday in Spain, according to Europol.

In one operation witnessed by an AFP journalist, heavily armed members of Spain’s Guardia Civil arrested a 40-year-old man at dawn at his home near Marbella, a seaside resort popular with drug traffickers.

The smugglers shipped cocaine from South America to logistical hubs in west Africa and the Canary Islands.

The drugs were then sent on to centres in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy and Spain for distribution across Europe.

Many of the drug network’s assets, with a total value of several tens of millions of euros, had been seized or frozen, Europol added.

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