It has been the worst news possible for a group of German sausage manufacturers who have been handed a £268m fine after being found to have formed an illegal cartel that worked together to fix costs.

The Federal Cartel Authority (FCA), who oversee and ensure that competition in the German market is fair and legal, announced that over twenty different groups formed the cartel and have been manipulating prices for a number of years.

Dubbed as the Atlantic Group after the Hamburg hotel where they are alleged to have originally met, many of the implicated producers such as Zur Muhlen Gruppe have denied any involvement in the illicit activity, though eleven had admitted wrongdoing and worked alongside the relevant authorities during the investigation.

The enquiry was launched after the FCA received an anonymous tip off

It has been said that whilst the group initially met to discuss market trends and prices, their relationships evolved into one that organised “concrete agreements” and a “collective rising of prices,” according to the authorities.

“The price-fixing agreements were practised over many years,” said Andreas Mund, the president of the FCA.

“The overall amount [of the] fines seems high at first glance, but has to be seen in perspective in view of the large number of companies involved, the duration of the cartel, and the billions in turnover achieved in this market.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first price-fixing scheme to have been unearthed in the country recently either. At the turn of the year 11 breweries were fined and three sugar producers were also found foul of dictating market prices.

Hopefully, this gigantic fine will knock the stuffing out of such activity.