Intel facing possible £2.5bn anti-trust fine

Intel is accused of illegally offering discounts to manufacturers

The European Commission is set to decide on Wednesday whether Intel has broken anti-trust regulations. Reports citing sources close to the matter suggest that the chip giant could face the largest fine in European history.

Intel has been accused of paying computer manufacturers to use its products over those of its long-term competitor AMD.

AMD filed a complaint to the European Union in 2007, and after a number of raids on Intel premises the company was formally charged with deliberately keeping AMD out of the microprocessor market.

If the European Commission rules against Intel, the company could be fined as much as 10 per cent of its annual revenue.

Intel's revenue in 2008 was almost $38bn (£25bn), so the fine could top the $1.6bn (£1bn) levied against Microsoft for anti-trust offences five years ago.

The decision would follow the verdict by a fair trade commission in South Korea last June when Intel was fined £14m for offering PC makers discounts to help drive AMD out of the market.