Intel offices and retailers raided in Europe

Intel's Munich offices, and a number of its retailers in Europe have been raided by the European Commission as part of ongoing anti-trust investigation.

The Commission sent officials to Intel's offices, to the offices of German retailer Media Markt and the UK's Dixons to carry out "unannounced inspections" as part of an investigation into restrictive business practices and abuse of a dominant market position.

In July 2007 the European Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Intel raising concerns that Intel was providing substantial rebates to OEMs if they obtain most or all of their processors from Intel; that Intel made payments to OEMs to delay or cancel AMD based lines, and that Intel offered CPUs at below cost when bidding against AMD. Neither the Statement of Objections nor the inspections are proof guilt, the Commission stressed.

Media Markt, part of Metro AG, is already under EU investigation over selling Intel-based PCs but not PC powered by processors from rival AMD.

Intel's Munich office houses a number of functions including including sales and marketing, information technology, human resources, finance and Intel Capital, according to the company's website.