Johannesburg-The South Africa Competition Commission meeting last week increased penalties to be paid by Sasol Chemical Industries Ltd., from the previously reported R188 million (US$22.4 million) (GM May 11, p. 12) to R250.7 million (US$30 million). The Commission said the amount is approximately 6-8 percent of the turnover of the Sasol Nitro division. “The Competition Commission hopes to encourage early and substantive cooperation,” said Commissioner Shan Ramburuth. “While it is commendable that Sasol’s ongoing internal review has uncovered conduct substantiating our findings, this conduct should have been uncovered when the Commission initiated its investigation five years ago and certainly prior to the settlement agreement signed earlier this month.” In addition, the Commission said it has identified additional related conduct that goes to the heart of the Commission’s collusion case. This includes meetings of Sasol Nitro, Omnia Holdings Ltd., and Yara (Kynoch). Omnia responded last week by saying that the investigation has raised extremely complex issues and that the allegations against Sasol were more numerous and wide-ranging than those against Omnia. The company said it would continue to defend itself while cooperating with authorities. Yara International ASA pointed out that Yara South Africa Ltd. completed the takeover of the former Kynoch Fertilizer Ltd. operation in 2001 and did a complete turnaround in management in 2005-2006, including rebranding to Yara. “Yara maintains its position of no wrongdoing,” a spokesman told Green Markets. It said it will continue its own internal investigation and is actively cooperating with the Commission.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain