EU officials raided the offices of DSG International, the struggling electrical goods retailer, today amid an investigation into possible market abuse.
The Currys and PC World business confirmed that its offices were being inspected by the European Commission.
It said that the raids related to a continuing investigation by the Commission into Intel, the US microchip maker.
The Commission conducted raids of several Intel offices across Europe in 2005 over allegations that the chipmaker had abused its dominant market position.
The raids were prompted by accusations from AMD, Intel’s main rival.
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Intel was accused of threatening customers and paying distributors and retailers, including Dixons in the UK, to keep rivals’ products off the shelves.
In a 48-page claim to the US courts, AMD claimed that DSG had, in exchange for Intel payments, agreed to keep AMD’s share of its business below 10 per cent.
In 2005 a spokesman for Dixons said that the retailer would “absolutely reject” the allegations. It said then that it was “considering” its legal options.
DSG said in a statement today: “I can confirm that officials from the EU Commission are currently conducting an inspection at our retail support centre in Hemel Hempstead.
“This inspection relates to the ongoing investigation between Intel and AMD. We are fully co-operating with the inspection.”
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A spokesman for the European Commission said that the raids were conducted because of possible violations of EU rules against “restrictive business practices and/or abuse of dominant position”.
The inquiry comes at a difficult time for DSG, whose shares plummeted to a 12-year-low last month after a stark profit warning.
The group was the first big casualty of the Christmas spending slowdown.