Another supplier agrees to plead guilty in price-fixing scandal
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DETROIT -- Japan-based automotive supplier G.S. Electech Inc. agreed to plead guilty for its involvement in the global wire harness price fixing scandal.
G.S. Electech agreed to pay a $2.75 million fine as part of the plea.
According to the one-count felony filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, the supplier engaged in a bid-rigging conspiracy on speed sensor wire assemblies parts used in antilock brake systems sold to an undisclosed automaker in the United States.
G.S. Electech engaged in the illegal activity from at least January 2003 to February 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
No executives from the supplier have been charged at this time.
The supplier’s North American operations include a plant in Findlay, Ohio, and in Mexico.
G.S. Electech’s plea is the latest in an ongoing global investigation into supplier price fixing.
Four companies have now been charged, accumulating fines of $750.75 million since last September. The other companies charged include Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Denso Corp. and Yazaki Corp. Eight executives from these companies are serving 122 months in jail, collectively.
The FBI, European Commission and Japan Fair Trade agents raided several suppliers in 2010 in connection with the crimes.
In the U.S., FBI agents raided Yazaki North America’s offices in Canton Township, Mich., Denso’s office in Southfield, Mich., and Tokai Rika Group North America in Plymouth Township, Mich.
