ACCC says charges laid for alleged cartel behaviour in relation to vehicle transport
Japanese shipping line Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line) is currently fending off criminal charges related to alleged cartel conduct concerning vehicle transport to Australia.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states that criminal charges have been laid against K-Line for cartel behaviour in relation to international shipping of cars, trucks, and buses between July 2009 and September 2012.
The matter is before the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney for a first mention today.
The news comes a few weeks after Japanese carriers Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) agreed to merge their container divisions with K-line to form a new shipping company, pending regulatory approval.
The new company will reportedly operate a fleet 110 vessels with 1.4 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEU).
NYK has already this year pleaded guilty to criminal cartel conduct before the Australian Federal Court.
The case against K-line is the second criminal charge laid against a corporation under the criminal cartel provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
The ACCC states it is currently investigating into other alleged cartel participants.
Considering the matter is currently before the court, the ACCC has refused to make further comment at this stage.
Last year, the United States Department of Justice stated that K-line executive executive Takashi Yamaguchi had pleaded guilty during an investigation in the US for his role in price fixing and rigging bids of other shipping services for roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the country.
Yamaguchi was handed a 14-month jail term and a USD20,000 criminal fine while the investigations continued.