And you thought cartels were just for drugs.

The Competition Bureau has laid criminal charges against the heads of several confectionary companies for conspiring to fix the price of chocolate products in Canada. Robert Leonidas (former President of Nestlé Canada), Sandra Martinez (former President of Confectionery for Nestlé Canada) and David Glenn Stevens (President and CEO of ITWAL, a confectionary distributor) have all been implicated, and Hershey Canada–having cooperated with the Bureau’s investigation–will plead guilty on June 21, 2013 for its role in the conspiracy, and may receive immunity or leniency for coming forward.

“We are fully committed to pursuing those who engage in egregious anti-competitive behaviour that harms Canadian consumers,”said John Pecman, Interim Commissioner of Competition. “Price-fixing is a serious criminal offence and today’s charges demonstrate the Competition Bureau’s resolve to stop cartel activity in Canada.”

[via Globe & Mail]

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Vidal Wu is an intern at Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @vidalwuu.

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