Amazon may face a new probe in Germany - its second-biggest market.

The country's anti-trust authority has reportedly launched an investigation of the online giant.

That’s according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

It quotes the boss of the Federal Cartel Office as saying he’s looking at Amazon’s relationship with third-party merchants.

In the first months of the global health crisis the office reportedly fielded complaints from sellers, who claimed they had been blocked from charging what Amazon said were overly high prices.

While that might sound good to consumers, cartel investigators say Amazon has no business controlling prices.

German officials haven’t commented on the reports.

An Amazon spokeswoman said the company’s policies were designed to make sure sellers set competitive prices.

She added that the firm had systems to take action against so-called “price gouging” - that’s when prices are sharply raised to take advantage of high demand.

Until 2013 Amazon prevented traders from offering their products via other sites at a lower price - a policy the anti-trust watchdog forced it to abandon.

Last year it reached a deal with German authorities over its treatment of third-party merchants, ending a previous seven-month investigation.

It seems the truce hasn’t lasted very long.