Rome, September 26, 2025 – Italy’s competition watchdog has imposed more than €936 million (approximately $1.1 billion) in fines on six leading oil companies – Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras, and Tamoil – after uncovering a cartel that coordinated the value of a bio-based component included in the price of fuel between 2020 and 2023.
The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) concluded its probe, launched following a whistleblower report, finding that the companies colluded to set the value of the bio component included in fuel prices. This component, introduced to comply with environmental regulations, surged from around €20 per cubic meter in 2019 to about €60 per cubic meter in 2023.
According to the AGCM, the cartel operated from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023, with companies engaging in parallel and near-simultaneous price increases. These moves were facilitated by direct and indirect exchanges of information between competitors.
A key channel was “Staffetta Quotidiana”, a specialist industry daily that published the bio component values. The regulator noted that information sent directly by Eni to the publication played a central role in aligning pricing strategies.
Iplom and Repsol, also investigated, were cleared of wrongdoing.
Fine Details
| Company | Fine (€) |
|---|---|
| Eni | €336.2m ($392.5m) |
| Esso | €129.3m ($151m) |
| Ip | €163.6m ($191.1m) |
| Q8 | €172.5m ($201.5m) |
| Saras | €43.7m ($51.1m) |
| Tamoil | €91m ($106.2m) |
Total: €936,659,087
Source: https://www.agcm.it/media/comunicati-stampa/2025/9/I864-
