MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s anti-monopoly agency, the CFC, said Wednesday that it imposed fines totaling 419 million pesos ($31 million) on railways owned by magnate Carlos Slim and mining giant Grupo Mexico.

In a June 9 meeting, the CFC decided to sanction for “monopoly practices” the Ferromex and Ferrosur railways as well as their corporate parents: Slim’s Grupo Carso and Sinca Inbursa and miner Grupo Mexico.

The decision brought to a close the CFC investigation begun in August 2007 to determine if the two railroads made agreements about price-fixing.

The issue goes back to November 2005, when Ferromex and Ferrosur undertook a merger without awaiting CFC approval.

In June 2006, the CFC decided not to authorize the merger after determining that it would constitute an excessive concentration in the rail cargo transport market to the detriment of consumers.

Despite the prohibition, the firms coordinated their operations and exchanged information with the aim of fixing prices, whereby they are responsible for engaging in monopolistic practices.

Ferromex and Ferrosur were two of the three companies that divided state-owned Ferrocarriles Mexicanos in the late 1990s.

The third was Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana, which remained in the hands of U.S.-based Kansas City Southern. EFE