April 1 - The Justice Department confirmed Tuesday that it's conducting an investigation into possible price-fixing in the chocolate industry.
The investigation, which had been previously reported, had not been acknowledged by the federal officials. Price-fixing is a criminal violation that can bring stiff fines and sometimes prison terms for executives. In recent years, U.S. and foreign antitrust enforcers have aggressively pursued such cases.
"The Department of Justice antitrust division is investigating the possibility of anticompetitive practices in the chocolate manufacturing industry," a department spokeswoman, Gina Talamona, said Tuesday. She declined to elaborate.
Canadian regulators in November began probing whether the Canadian divisions of Hershey Co. (HSY), Mars Inc. and Nestle SA (NESN.VX) fixed prices. Since then, European antitrust regulators have opened inquiries, and dozens of civil lawsuits have been filed against the chocolate companies. The companies have said they're cooperating with the investigations.