EU fines Samsung, Philips, others over smartcard chip cartel

The EU has fined Infineon, Philips and Samsung 138 million euros (181 million dollars) for forming a smartcard chip cartel in Europe, the European Commission said today.
The German, Dutch and South Korean companies "colluded through bilateral contacts that took place in the period between September 2003 and September 2005," the commission said in a statement, adding Japan's Renesas was granted immunity for revealing the existence of the cartel.