Single and Continuous Infringement – 12 Banks (Now 11 Banks) Case Finally Decided
The 12 Banks saga is finally over. The Turkish Competition Authority's (TCA) initially fined 12 banks for fixing prices, commissions related to credit and credit card services in 2013. Banks appealed the fine and the TCA finally issued its final ruling in 2025.
The Council of State emphasized that for there to be a single and continuous infringement, participating undertakings must know or be in a position to know the offending conduct of others. According to the Council of State, some banks were never a part of the infringement related to certain products and therefore, they cannot be a made responsible for the whole infringement.
The TCA therefore re-examined its previous findings and also stated that the fine cannot exceed the original fine.
One interesting piece of information is that Finansbank did not apply for rectification of the Council of States initial decision and therefore, the initial decision of the TCA became final for the bank. Accordingly, the TCA states that it did not re-examine its findings for Finansbank.
New Resale Price Maintenance Investigations Initiated
Resale price maintenance is a regular in the TCA's agenda. Here are new investigations initiated related to resale price maintenance:
- Apple Investigation: TCA initiated an
investigation against Apple and three companies active in the
buyback sector (i.e., buying second hand electronic devices).
The TCA's investigation aims uncover whether Apple fixes resale prices of its vendors and/or buyback prices for Apple branded products.
- Household Appliances Industry:
- Fakir Investigation: The TCA initiated an investigation to determine whether Fakir fixed the resale prices and restricted internet sales of its resellers. In addition, the TCA is seeking to uncover whether there is a hub & spoke type of agreement between Fakir and certain electro markets.
- Arzum Investigation: The TCA initiated an investigation to determine whether Arzum fixed the resale prices and restricted internet sales of its resellers. Unlike the investigation related to Fakir, the case does not seem to feature hub & spoke concerns.
Attorney Client Privilege – TCA Reiterates Its Position That Attorney Client Privilege Applies Narrowly
In a dawn raid at Tatko (a company active in the tire sector), company officials objected TCA taking certain documents, citing attorney-client privilege. The TCA, by referencing administrative court decisions, stated that for attorney client privilege to apply, the correspondences must be conducted within the scope of a preliminary or full-fledged investigation.
By applying this principle, the TCA stated that the correspondences were carried out prior to the initiation of an investigation and therefore, were not protected by attorney client privilege. The TCA therefore signals once again that it aims to apply attorney client privilege narrowly and only if the correspondences are related to an on-going investigation.
Eczacıbaşı Deal Cleared Subject to Commitments
The TCA conditionally cleared the acquisition of Eczacıbaşı Monrol (active in the field of nuclear medicine) by Curium International. According to the TCA, the acquisition may have restricted effective competition in certain markets (c-99m generators", "I-131 oral capsule and solution" and "DTPA cold kit). On this token the following commitments are approved:
- Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency will implement a price regulation mechanism for Eczacıbaşı products in the aforementioned markets.
- The transaction parties will operate through two independent distributors (from the transaction parties as well as each other). A Chinese wall will also be implemented to prevent commercially sensitive information exchange between the two distributors.
- Sufficient products will be allocated to meet the Türkiye demand as well as a sufficient production capacity. The production facility shall not be closed or moved away from Türkiye.
- In case of interruptions to the global supply chain, Türkiye's priority will not decreased compared to other markets.
- Any commercial strategy that affects, hinders or harms sales to a specific customer or customer type (public or private) in Türkiye will not be adopted.
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