Amazon, Apple deny wrongdoing after local offices raided in Italy

U.S. online retailer Amazon and tech giant Apple on Thursday issued statements denying wrongdoing, a day after Italy's main competition regulator announced it had raided their Italian offices looking for evidence of anti-competitive behavior, reported Xinhua.

Italy's Authority for Competition and Markets announced it had carried out unannounced raids on the local offices of both Amazon and Apple, as part of a probe into whether the companies engaged in price-fixing for Apple-made products and those from headphone maker Beats.

According to a statement from the regulator, the companies are alleged to have artificially inflated prices on those products while making it more difficult for other retailers to sell the products at lower prices.

On Thursday, a statement from Amazon denied wrongdoing while stating the company was "fully collaborating" with Italian regulators. Apple's statement said the company obeyed applicable laws in all countries where it operated, including Italy.

The investigation is the latest in a series of regulatory threats against the companies in Europe. In June, the European Commission announced it had launched two separate probes into Apple for the rules it applies in its online App Store and with the Apple Pay platform.

Previously, both companies -- as well as social media powerhouse Facebook and Alphabet, Google's parent company -- reached settlements with Italian tax authorities after allegations of underpaying their tax bills in the country.