{"id":5636,"date":"2014-08-20T13:56:28","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T20:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=5636"},"modified":"2014-08-20T14:08:47","modified_gmt":"2014-08-20T21:08:47","slug":"japanese-based-spark-plug-company-agrees-pay-52-1-million-price-fixing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=5636","title":{"rendered":"Japanese-Based Spark Plug Company Agrees to Pay $52.1 Million for Price Fixing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Department<\/a>WASHINGTON<\/strong>\u2014 NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $52.1 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids<\/p>\n

The price fixing and bid rigging were for spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers in the U.S. and elsewhere, the federal government announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Including NGK Spark Plug, federal prosecutors said 28 companies and 26 executives have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty in the division\u2019s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry and have agreed to pay a total of $2.4 billion in criminal fines.<\/p>\n

The charge against NGK Spark Plug is the latest in the U.S. Justice Department’s on-going investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry. These are the first charges filed relating to spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors and air fuel ratio sensors sold to automobile manufacturers, according to officials.<\/p>\n

NGK Spark Plug engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler AG, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., among others, in the United States and elsewhere, according to the federal indictment issued out of Detroit.<\/p>\n

In addition to the criminal fine, officials said NGK Spark Plug has agreed to cooperate in the department\u2019s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement will be subject to court approval.<\/p>\n

NGK Spark Plug is charged with price fixing and bid rigging in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s guilty plea is just another example of the commitment of the Antitrust Division to preserving fair and legal competitive practices,\u201d said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division\u2019s criminal enforcement program. \u201cWe will continue to do whatever it takes to protect U.S. consumers and businesses.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to the charge, officials said the conspiracy was carried out through meetings and conversations by NGK Spark Plug and its co-conspirators. \u00a0They\u00a0agreed on bids and price quotations on bids to be submitted to certain automobile manufacturers and to allocate the supply of the products to those manufacturers.<\/p>\n

NGK Spark Plug sold spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors at non-competitive prices to auto makers in the U.S. and elsewhere in furtherance of the agreement. NGK Spark Plug\u2019s involvement in the conspiracy lasted from at least as early as January 2000 until on or about July 2011.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON\u2014 NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $52.1 million criminal fine for its role in a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[89,810,808,809],"class_list":["post-5636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-justice-department","tag-ngk-spark-plug","tag-price-fixing","tag-rig-bidding"],"yoast_head":"\nJapanese-Based Spark Plug Company Agrees to Pay $52.1 Million for Price Fixing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WASHINGTON\u2014 NGK Spark Plug Co. 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