Japan: 4 companies indicted in maglev bid-rigging scandal

Tokyo prosecutors have indicted 4 leading construction companies—Taisei, Kajima, Obayashi and Shimizu—for alleged bid-rigging on a magnetic levitation (maglev) train project.

The prosecutors on Friday, March 23, also indicted 2 men—a former executive of Taisei and a current senior official of Kajima.

In December, 2017, Tokyo prosecutors raided the headquarters of Taisei and Obayashi over alleged antitrust violations linked to US$80 billion worth of maglev train projects and over suspected antitrust breaches.

They say that between April 2014 and August 2015, the firms conspired to divide up contracts to build 2 new stations ordered by Central Japan Railway Company.

Officials from the firms are alleged to have discussed with each other the prices that they would quote as their estimates in their bids.

Sources close to the investigation say two of the firms, Taisei and Kajima, deny any wrongdoing.

Prosecutors decided not to indict 3 former executives of Obayashi and Shimizu, apparently because the firms volunteered information about the bid-rigging and cooperated with the investigation.

Full Content: Nikkei

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