Cuomo Charges Intel With Anti-Trust Violations

November 4, 2009 3:27 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued computer chip maker Intel on Wednesday, accusing the computer chip maker of using payoffs and bullying tactics to keep business away from rival Advanced Micro Devices.

The suit, filed in federal court, charges that Intel violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws "by engaging in a worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct."

In a statement, Cuomo said Intel "used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market." Cuomo accused the company of paying "rebates" amounting up to billions of dollars to computer makers so they would not use AMD chips in their products.

The suit follows a $1.45 billion fine assessed against Intel by the European Commission in May for anti-trust violations. Intel has appealed the ruling.

Intel chips are in about 80 percent of PCs and servers.

Cuomo said the investigation was begun in January 2008 and involved millions of pages of documents and e-mails. Several dozen witnesses were interviewed.

A spokesman for Intel said the company would contest the charges.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) was up 1.7 percent at 2:41 p.m.