Pedro Fonseca: JULY 31, 2018
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s three largest fuel distribution companies are under investigation for fixing prices at the pump, police said on Tuesday, reigniting debate over potential collusion among gas station owners in Latin America’s largest oil producer.
The firms targeted by the probe are Petrobras Distribuidora SA (BRDT3.SA), a subsidiary of state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA); Ipiranga, a unit of Ultrapar Participações SA (UGPA3.SA); and Raízen, a Cosan SA (CSAN3.SA) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.AS) joint venture.
Police in the southern state of Parana were serving eight arrest warrants and 12 search and seizure warrants in connection with the probe in the city of Curitiba, the state capital, according to police.
The probe comes two months after Brazil’s economy was paralyzed by a trucker strike over soaring diesel fuel prices. While the government resolved that protest with new subsidies and other measures, antitrust regulators also raised concerns about a lack of competition in the highly concentrated sector.
Police said they were targeting managers and sales representatives of the three firms in the investigation, which has been underway for over a year.
They accused the fuel distribution companies of dictating the prices at the pump charged by individual gas station owners, a violation of Brazilian market rules that the owners should have freedom to set prices freely.
Shares in Petrobras Distribuidora, Ultrapar, and Cosan all tumbled at least 3.5 percent in late morning trade, dragging Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP down some 1.3 percent.
To make sure the dictated prices were being applied by the gas station owners, the distribution companies hired people to ride motorbikes around the city of Curitiba to take pictures of the gas stations and their pricing banners, according to police.
Petrobras Distribuidora, also known as BR Distribuidora, said in a statement that it follows “the best commercial, competitive and ethical practices toward the consumer” and demands the same behavior from its partners and workforce.
Raízen said fuel prices were set by individual gas station owners with no interference from the distributor.
“The company operates in total conformity with applicable legislation and always acts toward the consumer in a competitive way and in favor of free competition,” it said in a statement.
Ipiranga said that it “does not incentivize illegal practices,” and that it operates in compliance with competition regulations.
The three companies under investigation together control more than two-thirds of the national fuel distribution market, according to data from oil regulator ANP.
The operation is the latest effort by Brazilian authorities to clamp down on collusion and price fixing in the fuel distribution market, which has been the most common target of accusations for cartel behavior by antitrust watchdog Cade.
The government had asked Cade earlier this year to investigate fuel stations for potential anticompetitive practices that could account for the large spread between fuel prices at refineries and at pumps.
Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Additional reporting by Bruno Federowski in Brasilia; Writing by Ana Mano; Additional writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Frances Kerry, Christian Plumb and Jonathan Oatis
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
