US: Nishikawa pleads guilty to price fixing

The US Department of Justice released a press release stating that Nishikawa Rubber Co. Ltd. (Nishikawa) has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $130 million criminal fine for its participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of and rig the bids for automotive body sealing products installed in cars sold to U.S. consumers.

According to the charges filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Nishikawa conspired from at least as early as January 2000 for at least 12 years to fix the prices and rig bids of automotive body sealing products sold to Honda, Toyota, Subaru and certain subsidiaries and affiliates.

“Nishikawa has agreed to pay a steep price for its participation in a conspiracy that victimized consumers in both the United States and Canada,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “However, Nishikawa deserves credit for acknowledging their conduct, accepting responsibility and charting a new path toward compliance and remediation.”

This charge is the result of an ongoing federal investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry.  Currently, 45 companies and 64 executives have been charged in the division’s ongoing investigation and the criminal fines total of more than $2.8 billion.

Full Content: US Department of Justice

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