The Netherlands' Competition Authority (NMa) has seen its powers extended in several directions over the last few years, and in 2009 it set out to put those new powers to the test. The NMa fined a former employee and two former chief executives €250,000 for being uncooperative and refusing to answer questions during the course of an investigation. It imposed a €500,000 fine on soft drinks producers for failing to provide adequate data in a merger notification. And it levied €1.3 million in penalties on companies in the frozen foods and raw materials trading sectors after they failed to notify mergers on time. The NMa also carried out its first unannounced raids on private property, during its probe of Dutch real estate agents. It was the first search of its type under the authority's expanded powers.