NYK Pleads Guilty to Criminal-Cartel Conduct in Australia's Federal Court
July 17 2016 - 11:30PM
Dow Jones News
SYDNEY—Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha
has pleaded guilty to criminal-cartel conduct in Australia's
Federal Court, the country's antitrust watchdog said Monday, as
regulators around the world continue a global dragnet into the
automotive shipping industry.
The plea follows an investigation by the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission, which said the charge relates to the
transportation of vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses, to
Australia between July 2009 and September 2012.
The matter is scheduled for a directions hearing on Sept. 12.
Spokespeople from NYK weren't immediately available to comment.
The case against NYK, one of the world's biggest and oldest
marine companies, is the first criminal charge laid against a
corporation under Australia's competition and consumer law. The
ACCC said it is continuing to investigate other alleged cartel
participants.
For corporations, the maximum fine in Australia for each
criminal-cartel offense is the greater of 10 million Australian
dollars (US$7.6 million); three times the benefits obtained from
the offense; or if the benefits can't be determined, 10% of the
corporation's annual turnover connected to Australia.
Government investigators in Japan, China, South Africa and the
U.S. began investigating price-fixing in the automobile
transportation industry in 2012, and shipping companies have paid
fees amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in multiple
countries.
Last week, Norwegian ocean carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Logistics AS agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of
price-fixing and bid-rigging, the fourth company specializing in
transporting automobiles internationally to be charged. It will pay
a fine of US$98.9 million.
In the U.S., federal investigators have already indicted
executives or reached settlements with NYK, as well as Kawasaki
Kisen Kaisha Ltd., or K-Line, and Chile's Compañ ia Sudamericana de
Vapores SA, resulting in fines of more than US$300 million in
total, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website.
NYK is one of the world's largest shipping companies, with
offices in Europe, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, China, Oceania,
including Australia, and North and South America. It has more than
33,000 employees and its headquarters is in Tokyo. It also operates
an Australian subsidiary, NYK Line (Australia) Pty Ltd.
The ACCC said it wouldn't comment further on the case because it
is still before the court.
Write to Rebecca Thurlow at rebecca.thurlow@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 17, 2016 23:15 ET (03:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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