The US Justice Department indicted two former and one current executive of Nishikawa Rubber Co. for allegedly fixing prices of weather-stripping and rubber seals for cars made in the US.
Keiji Kyomoto, Mikio Katsumaru, and Yuji Kuroda were charged of conspiring to rig bids for and fix the prices of body sealing products sold to Honda Motor Company Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp. The indictment was filed in the US District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The indictment alleges that Kyomoto, Katsumaru and Kuroda participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as September 2003 until at least October 2011. For most of this period, Kyomoto resided in the United States and served as President of an unnamed joint venture with offices in Indiana and Michigan, which manufactured and sold automotive body sealing products.
“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.”