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California v. Vitol and SK spot-market case

California Department of Justice suit over spot gasoline prices after the Torrance explosion, filed May 2020 and settled for $50 million in July 2024.

5 links, 5 backed by primary records

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Dates
4 May 2020 – 10 Jul 2024

Connections 5

led by

involved

  • Vitol defendant (said in 2020 the suit lacked merit) Primary record 12
  • SK Energy Americas defendant, with its parent SK Trading International Primary record 3
  • Xavier Becerra filed the suit as Attorney General Primary record 1
  • Rob Bonta announced the settlement as Attorney General Primary record 3
Timeline 2 dates
  1. 4 May 2020 – 10 Jul 2024 California v. Vitol and SK spot-market case
  2. 4 May 2020 California Department of Justice leads California v. Vitol and SK spot-market case
Proof 3 sources
  1. Attorney General Becerra Announces Lawsuit Against Two Multinational Companies for Manipulating Gas Market, Costing Californians More at the Pump, California Department of Justice, 4 May 2020. Primary record
    took advantage of the market disruption following a February 2015 explosion at a gasoline refinery in Torrance, California to engage in a scheme to drive up gas prices for their own profit.
    Attorney General Becerra alleges that Vitol and SK violated California’s antitrust laws and engaged in unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent practices that raised the price of gasoline in the state.
  2. California Sues Gasoline Trading Companies for Price Manipulation, CSP Daily News. Scholarship & press
    The combination of price manipulation and anti-competitive practices may have increased the price of gasoline by more than 1 cent per gallon, which could have raised $150 million in profits for the two companies, the lawsuit alleges.
    In a statement, Vitol said the lawsuit “lacks merit.”
  3. Attorney General Bonta Announces $50 Million Settlement with Vitol and SK as Part of Ongoing Enforcement Against Big Oil, California Department of Justice, 10 Jul 2024. Primary record
    announced a $50 million settlement with gas trading firms, resolving allegations that Vitol, Inc. (Vitol) and SK Energy Americas, Inc., along with its parent company SK Trading International (SK), secretly worked together to tamper with and manipulate spot market prices for California gasoline.
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