Canada’s Competition Bureau has issued a prohibition order against Sotheby’s and its Canadian subsidiary, following its “investigation into an international price-fixing conspiracy”. The order demands that the firm “refrain from offences against the Competition Act”—five years after Sotheby’s pleaded to guilty to commission-fixing in New York.

The 2001 trial in Manhattan ended with a fine of $45m for the firm and a sentence of one year in prison for Alfred Taubman, its majority owner.

According to the Canadian agency, while there was no evidence of commission-fixing in Canada in 1993-2000, investigators suspect that the auctioneers Toronto subsidiary could have told Canadian sellers to put their property up for auction in the US, where commission-fixing did occur.

The Canadian authorities ordered Sotheby’s to pay around $800,000 in investigation costs, to post the prohibition order on its website and implement compliance programmes.

Diana Phillips, worldwide head of corporate affairs, said: “The Canadian Antitrust Proceedings regarding Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Canada relate to the same matter that was resolved everywhere else in the world several years ago. These proceedings have been terminated by the Canadian authorities without any finding of a violation of Canada’s Competition Act. Sotheby’s has agreed to pay the costs incurred by the Commissioner of Competition and the Attorney General of Canada and to assure the authorities of their compliance with the Act in the future.”

Posted: 10|6|06 at 8:41 am. Filed under: US News.