The trial begins in the District Court today of an agent who is alleged to have helped Citroën car dealers fix their selling prices.
John McGlynn, Templeogue, Dublin, is charged with aiding and abetting members of the Citroën Dealers' Association to distort competition in the car market by fixing the selling prices of Citroën cars between 1998 and 2003.
Mr McGlynn is a retired car sector worker who has acted as a consultant for a number of car-dealer associations. He has previously denied the charge.
The trial comes on foot of a lengthy investigation by the Competition Authority and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation into alleged price-fixing in the car market. In 2004, gardaí raided 17 premises, including Mr McGlynn's office at his home, as part of their investigation into the allegations.
Last February, Denis Manning (68), a retired director of Henry Ford and Son, was given a 12- month suspended sentence and fined €30,000 for assisting Ford dealers to operate a price-fixing cartel.
The DPP is currently considering files sent by the Competition Authority in relation to a number of other figures in the car industry.
It is legal for recommended retail prices to be agreed for goods but it is illegal for individual retailers to be prohibited by contract or agreement from selling below that price.
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