Yesterday, The European Commission has announced that it imposed a 15.9 million euro fine on International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. (IFF) and its subsidiary, International Flavors and Fragrances SAS, for obstructing an antitrust inspection in 2023. According to the European Commission, a senior IFF employee intentionally deleted WhatsApp messages exchanged with a competitor during the inspection. These messages contained business-related information and were deleted after the employee was informed about the commission’s inspection.
In early March 2023, the commission conducted unannounced inspections on the world’s four largest fragrance and flavor suppliers—Firmenich, Givaudan, Symrise, and IFF—across multiple member states. The investigation aimed to uncover possible collusion within the industry. During these inspections, the commission requested access to the mobile phones of certain IFF employees. It was during this process that the deletion of the WhatsApp messages was discovered.
IFF stated that the employee responsible for the deletion was a former member of their scent division. The company emphasized that this action was against the explicit instructions of both its legal department and the commission. IFF promptly assisted the commission in recovering the deleted messages and reiterated its commitment to ethical conduct and adherence to legal guidelines.
The European Commission acknowledged IFF’s immediate admission of the facts and its proactive cooperation during and after the inspection. This cooperation included the company’s agreement to pay the 15.9 million euro fine, which equates to 0.15 percent of IFF’s total sales. This fine is half of the potential maximum.
Legally, the commission can impose fines up to 1 percent of a company’s total sales for obstructing an antitrust investigation, considering the severity and duration of the infringement. In IFF’s case, the commission deemed the infringement particularly serious due to the intentional deletion of messages post-notification of the inspection and the lack of immediate disclosure of this deletion.
This fine is noteworthy as it marks the first instance of the commission penalizing a company for deleting messages via social media applications on a mobile phone. The commission clarified that its investigation into the broader fragrance industry continues and is not directly connected to the decision regarding the IFF fine.
IFF has committed to cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation and is working closely with the relevant authorities.
