A seven-year investigation into Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google’s shopping service is about to come to an end. People familiar with the circumstances have revealed that the EU antitrust regulators are expected to make a decision before the summer break in August. Sources have it that if found guilty, the world’s most popular internet search engine is likely to suffer a hefty fine.

Google was accused of distorting Internet search results of its shopping service, which was said to be harming competition. This triggered the need for an investigation following massive complaints from both U.S. and European rivals.

Breaching of EU antitrust rules

Neither Google nor the Commission agreed to comment on the latest unfolding. The fine could be as high as 10% of the company’s global turnover. Thus the tech firm should be prepared to part with close to $9 billion of its 2016 turnover.

The allegation sets up another two cases involving the tech giant

If confirmed, the hefty fine by the European Commission will be a step back for the celebrated tech giant. It comes at a time when every tech is up in arms to take hold of a bigger market share. The company has been making efforts to settle the case through the former European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

The worse of it is that Margrethe Vestager, Almunia’s successor is also very reluctant. Apparently, Google has also made attempts to deny the charges citing that the regulators are not taking note of the competition by other online retailers the likes of Amazon.

All these will set a stage for two cases, which Google has vowed to fight back. The first case has it that the tech giant has been using its Android mobile operating system to block competitors in online search advertising, which links to its “AdSense for Search” platform.

Nevertheless, the cases are not in the hand of the Commission. Meanwhile, Alphabet’s stock closed at $988.29 witnessing an increase of $1.20 or 0.12%.