Posted on 07/12/2005 9:25:16 AM PDT by Mike Bates
update European regulators raided the offices of Intel and a number of PC-related companies early Tuesday as part of an antitrust investigation into the chip giant.
As part of the dawn raid, European Commission officials and national competition authorities from member states descended on several Intel offices, as well as a number of IT companies that manufacture or sell computers, a Commission representative said.
"These inspections are carried out within the framework of an ongoing investigation," the representative said.
An Intel representative said the chipmaker is cooperating fully with investigators.
"Our normal business practice is to cooperate, and we are doing (that) so far in this case," Intel representative Chuck Mulloy told CNET News.com. "We firmly believe that our business practices are fair and lawful."
The United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading, or OFT, confirmed that it had assisted the European Commission competition authorities in an "on-site inspection" of Intel's Swindon offices.
"It is really a European Commission matter," said a spokeswoman. She said the inspection was likely to have been carried out under article 81 of the EU Treaty, which prohibits price fixing and other distortions of competition within the EU. The spokeswoman could not confirm whether anything was removed from Intel's offices.
Intel U.K. spokesman Nick Knupffer said that Intel's offices in Swindon and Munich had been raided.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.com ...
Looks like Intel forgot to grease the right palms.
No doubt there are plenty of greasy palms to be filled.
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