Düsseldorf: In February 2008, the German Federal Cartel Office imposed a fine on Henkel and a number of its competitors for exchanging information on manual dishwashing detergents and shower gels at the end of the year 2005. Although the Federal Cartel Office rated this violation as a ‘minor infringement,’ it set the fine for Henkel at 21.6 million euros. The fine is based on the sales figures for the brands concerned, Pril (dishwashing liquids) and Fa (shower gels) – two product ranges with which Henkel holds strong market positions. Since any violation of antitrust laws runs clearly counter to Henkel’s Code of Conduct, the Company cooperated closely with the Cartel Office and accepted the fine imposed.

The classification as a ‘minor infringement’ refers to the fact that the information exchange to which the Cartel Office objected did not constitute any concrete price fixing. It was a matter of passing on information to competitors that Henkel intended to increase its list prices – a measure that had already been decided upon within the company and was communicated to the market only a short while later.

Corporate governance and corporate compliance have always been top priorities at Henkel. By reorganizing its compliance structures from a decentralized to a centralized organization, appointing a Chief Compliance Officer with global responsibility, as well as reinforcing its training measures, Henkel has taken further steps to prevent any such misconduct. The Chief Compliance Officer at Henkel, Dirk-Stephan Koedijk, stated emphatically: “In a letter to all employees, the entire Management Board made it quite clear that this kind of behavior must never happen again. Disciplinary measures against the individual employees involved in this case are being considered – as carefully and as fairly as for any other kind of misconduct."