BRUSSELS, Nov 5: The European Commission said on Wednesday that it had raided the offices of cement makers on suspicions that the companies may have run an illegal cartel.

Cement giants Lafarge of France, Cemex of Mexico, Holcim of Switzerland and Heidelberg Cement and Dyckerhoff both of Germany have already acknowledged that they were targeted by the probe.

“The commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated (EU) antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position,” it said in a statement.

Lafarge was the first to acknowledge it had been raided with a spokeswoman saying on Tuesday that “European authorities are conducting an investigation into the European cement industry.” Cemex said in a statement that its offices in Germany and Britain had been raided and that the Monterrey, Mexico-based cement giant was “fully cooperating with the authorities.”

Holcim said regulators had investigated the company at its office in Britain, Belgium, France and Germany.

Heidelberg Cement said on Wednesday that its offices in Germany, Britain and the Benelux countries had received visits from EU regulators and Dyckerhoff said it was targeted in Germany and Luxembourg.

The investigations do not mark the first time that the cement sector has attracted the attention of EU trustbusters.

The European Commission already fined more than 40 companies back in 1994 for secretly carving up the cement market among them.—AFP