Bulgaria's competition watchdog on Wednesday overturned an earlier finding that six major oil firms had fixed fuel and diesel prices in the country, saying its probe failed to yield "sufficient" proof in the end.
Russia's Lukoil, Anglo-Dutch Shell, Austria's OMV, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum, Serbia's Nis Petrol and Bulgarian Petrol - - which control 70 percent of the petrol and 55 percent of the diesel market - had been targeted in the lengthy probe launched last February.
In October, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) found the companies guilty of forming a cartel to keep fuel prices in petrol stations artificially high and not reflect fluctuations on the international wholesale markets.
The companies appealed the ruling and the watchdog has now dropped the case in a surprise move.
"During the investigation we did not establish sufficient evidence that the analysed (pricing) practices were due to non-market factors and aimed to breach competition," the CPC said in a statement Wednesday.
It however warned the six firms to abstain from exchanging any information on pricing with their competitors in the future and sack any officials who breach that recommendation. Fuel prices are a sensitive issue in the European Union's poorest country and consumer organisations have long accused the major oil distributors of price-fixing practices. A new political party launched by independent petrol station owner Veselin Mareshki entered parliament in Sunday's snap election on pledges of pushing fuel prices down.