Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is facing a new antitrust lawsuit in Brussels next week over how it discriminates against its competitors through its mobile payment system.
Competition investigators have accused the US$2.5 trillion company of breaking EU law.
This could result in heavy fines for the tech giant, according to media reports.
READ: Apple's Tim Cook rips into antitrust regulation, says rules would hurt iPhone users
Investigations concluded that Apple's refusal to make its NFC payment chip technology available to third-party payment systems has caused a distortion in the market and is undermining rivals.
Apple is the subject of several investigations in Brussels, including two others overseen by antitrust authorities looking into whether the App Store's book and music streaming services are harming competition.
An in the US last month, a bill aimed at banning tech giants from abusing their market dominance was backed by the United States' Department of Justice (DOJ), the first fully-fledged support from the Biden administration for an anti-trust measure.
The iPhone maker has already racked up over €45mln (US$49mln) in fines at the end of March, according to Reuters, with the Authority for Consumers and Markets in the Netherlands imposing weekly fines of €5mln on the company since January.
The ninth penalty was handed out at the end of March.