FURTHER GUILTY PLEAS MAKE US CAR PARTS CARTEL INVESTIGATION THE LARGEST EVER

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us flagThe US Justice Department announced on 26 September 2013 that nine Japanese companies and two executives have agreed to plead guilty and pay more than USD 740 million in criminal fines for their roles in a number of conspiracies to fix prices in the car manufacturing sector.

The companies and executives engaged in various price-fixing schemes in relation to more than 30 different car components which affected more than USD 5 billion in auto parts used in more than 25 million cars sold in the US market. The companies and executives have admitted to attending meetings and making telephone calls in the US and Japan to rig bids, set prices and allocate the supply of parts sold to car manufacturers. Those involved took measures to keep their cartel conduct secret by using code names and meeting in remote locations.

The largest fines have been imposed on Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd., Jtekt Corporation, Mitsuba Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) who have all agreed to pay in excess of USD 100 million. The two executives, US citizen Gary Walker and Japanese citizen Tetsuya Kunida, will serve 14 and 12 month prison sentences respectively and will each pay a USD 20,000 fine. All parties have admitted to violations of the Sherman Act and agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation

The fines are the latest in the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into the automotive sector (see previous blog post). The investigation has so far seen 20 companies and 17 executives plead guilty and has cost the auto industry more than USD 1.6 billion in fines and resulted in prison sentences of between a year and a day and two years.

What is now the largest cartel investigation in US history in terms of criminal fines and number of companies and executives under investigation looks set to continue. Eric Holder, the US Attorney General said at a press conference to announce the plea deals “The Department of Justice will continue to crack down on cartel behviour that causes American consumers and businesses to pay higher prices for the products and services they rely upon in their everyday lives”

This entry was posted in Japan, USA by Michael O'Kane. Bookmark the permalink.

About Michael O'Kane

Michael O’Kane is a partner and Head of the Business Crime team at leading UK firm Peters & Peters. Described as ‘first-rate’ (Legal 500 2012), he “draws glowing praise from commentators” (Chambers 2013) for handling the international aspects of business crime, including sanctions, extradition and mutual legal assistance. Called to the Bar in 1992 and prior to joining Peters & Peters he was a senior specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service Headquarters(CPS). At CPS HQ he was a key member of a small specialist unit responsible for the prosecution of serious and high profile fraud, terrorist and special interest criminal matters including the Stansted Airport Afghan hijacking and the prosecution of Paul Burrell (Princess Diana’s butler). Michael joined Peters & Peters in 2002. He became a partner in May 2004, and Head of the Business Crime team in May 2009. Since joining Peters & Peters, Michael has dealt with a wide range of business crime matters. He has particular expertise in international sanctions, criminal cartels, extradition, corruption, mutual legal assistance, and FSA investigations. Described as“ an influential practitioner in fraud and regulatory work, so much so that he is top of the referral lists of many City firms for independent advice for directors” (The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2009), he was recognised as one of the UK’s most innovative lawyers in the 2011 FT Innovative Lawyer Awards and included in the list of the UK's leading lawyers in 'The International Who's Who of Asset Recovery 2012. In 2012 he was the winner of the Global Competition Review Article of the Year. Michael regularly appears on television and radio to discuss his specialist areas and he is the author of the leading textbook on the UK Criminal Cartel Offence “The Law of Criminal Cartels-Practice and Procedure” (Oxford University Press 2009). Recent/Current Sanctions Work • Representing 109 individuals and 12 companies subject to designation by the European Council under targeted measures imposed against Zimbabwe. This is the largest and most complex collective challenge to a sanctions listing ever brought before the European Court. • Acting for a former Egyptian Minister and his UK resident wife, challenging their designation by the European Council of Ministers under targeted measures brought against former members of the Egyptian Government. • Advising a company accused in a UN investigation report to have breached UN sanctions imposed in relation to Somalia. • Advising a UK company in relation to ongoing commercial relationships with an Iranian company listed under both EU and UN sanctions. • Advising an individual in relation to a UK investigation for alleging breaching nuclear export controls.

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