Nestle, Mars accused of chocolate price-fixing

Canadian authorities have charged Nestle, Mars and a network of independent wholesale distributors over an alleged criminal conspiracy to fix the prices of leading chocolate brands.

Competition Commissioner John Pecman called their alleged actions "egregious anti-competitive behavior that harms Canadian consumers" and "a serious criminal offense".

A whistleblower triggered an investigation that uncovered "evidence suggesting that the accused conspired, agreed or arranged to fix prices of chocolate products," the Competition Bureau said in a statement.