Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Japanese auto parts executive sentenced to year in prison for price fixing, (Jul 3, 2014)
Organizations Mentioned:JTEKT Corp. | NSK Ltd.
By Jeffrey May, J.D.
A former executive of a U.S. subsidiary of a Japan-based automotive anti-vibration rubber products supplier has been sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison and to pay a $20,000 criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices. Tetsuya Kunida, a Japanese citizen, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to rig bids and fix prices for automotive anti-vibration rubber products sold to automakers from November 2001 until May 2012. Kunida' plea agreement was accepted by the federal district court in Toledo, Ohio, and judgment was entered on July 1 (U.S. v. Kunida, Criminal No. 3:13-cr-00438).
The charges against Kunida were announced in September 2013, along with charges against nine Japan-based companies, as well as another executive—Gary Walker. The nine companies charged at that time were: Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd.; Jtekt Corporation; Mitsuba Corporation; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.; NSK Ltd.; T.RAD Co. Ltd.; Valeo Japan Co. Ltd.; and Yamashita Rubber Co. Ltd. The Justice Department did not identify the company where Kunida had worked.
The Justice Department’s investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry remains ongoing.
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