With the assistance of the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police), the Authority notified the documentation at the offices of the companies

Following the extraordinary increase in petrol and diesel prices recorded over the past few days, as well as the numerous complaints received, today, 18 March 2022, the Italian Competition Authority notified detailed requests for information to leading oil companies, with the assistance of the Guardia di Finanza. The purpose is to investigate the reasons for these increases and examine, where necessary, if there is any room for a possible intervention, exclusively limited to the alleged violation of the laws on abuse of dominant position or anti-competitive agreements. Within the framework of its duties, the Italian Competition Authority monitors – as it did during the early months of the pandemic – the exceptional price increases that sometimes occur during the phases of a crisis, in order to ensure that said phenomena are not the result of anti-competitive behaviour.

Rome, 18 March 2022