Investing.com -- Three Japanese auto parts executives were indicted in U.S. federal court on Thursday for their role in an alleged conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids with contracts involving automotive body sealing products.
The indictment charges Keiji Kyomoto, Mikio Katsumaru and Yuji Kuroda, three Japanese nationals, with conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices of body sealing products sold to Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corp Ltd Ord (NYSE:TM), as well as a number of their subsidiaries and affiliates. Automotive body sealing parts are used for a variety of vehicle components including: body-side opening seals, door-side weather stripping, glass-run channels and trunk lids among others. The sealing parts are installed into automobiles to keep the insides of cars dry from rain and to block out exterior noise.
The conspiracy dates back more than a decade to as early as 2003, according to the indictment. Kyomoto, who served as the head of an unnamed joint venture, sold manufacturing and automotive body sealing parts in Michigan and Indiana, according to court files. Katsumaru, who lived in Japan during the period, was employed as the manager of a sales and marketing division at an unnamed company in Hiroshima that manufactured and sold body sealing parts. Kuroda also served as a sales manager at the same unnamed branch in Hiroshima.
The executives each instructed subordinates at their companies to work in conjunction with co-conspirators at other companies to rig bids and fix prices for automotive body sealing products, the indictment alleges. Kyomoto also allegedly attended meetings with co-conspirators in the U.S. where agreements were reached regarding the sale of the sealing products to Toyota and Hyundai. In addition, Katsumaru and Kuroda also encouraged employees to destroy evidence of a conspiracy, according to court filings.
“These executives conspired for years with their competitors to fix the prices of body sealing products sold to Honda and Toyota and installed in U.S. cars,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s indictment is another reminder that antitrust violations are not just corporate offenses but also crimes by individuals. The Antitrust Division will continue to vigorously prosecute executives who orchestrate their companies’ efforts to break the law.”
The indictment was brought by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's Criminal Enforcement Section and the FBI's Louisville field office.