Latvian Retailers’ Cartel

The Competition Council has determined a cartel exists between the retail trade companies Plus Punkts, Narvesen Baltija and Preses apvieniba, and fined these companies LVL 103,000 altogether. The three companies simultaneously started to charge exactly the same prices for condoms, Snickers bars, beer, and pre-paid Communist Party membership cards, according to the Competition Council. Asked for comment, Janis Kopejs, spokesman for Plus Punkts, Narvesen AND Preses apvieniba said, “we were just following our bank’s advice. And also, the condoms had different flavors.”