Court levies $5M fine in auto parts scandal
Honda Civic supplier caught in international bid-rigging conspiracy
Canada’s consumer watchdog says a Japanese auto parts maker has been fined $5 million by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for its participation in an international bid-rigging conspiracy.
The federal Competition Bureau said the case against Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. involved $41 million worth of parts used in the production of the popular Honda Civic. There are no allegations of wrongdoing against Honda Canada, or any other motor vehicle manufacturers, the bureau said.
The case is part of a wider global investigation into auto parts bid-rigging that involves numerous car parts suppliers in Europe, North America and Japan.
“The substantial fine demonstrates the seriousness of such an offence.” JOHN PECMAN INTERIM COMMISSIONER OF COMPETITION
The fine is the largest ever ordered by a Canadian court for a bid-rigging offence under the Competition Act.
“Cracking down on cartels, including bid-rigging offences, is a top priority for the bureau,” John Pecman, interim commissioner of competition, said. “This criminal activity defrauded the automobile sector in Canada and the substantial fine demonstrates the seriousness of such an offence.”
The case involves parts Furukawa sold to Honda over a 10-year period, starting in 2000, the bureau said.
The parts, mainly electrical boxes, were used in the manufacture of Honda Civic models for the years 2001to 2006, the bureau said.
Since 2000, Honda has produced more than 2.2 million Civics, Canada’s bestselling passenger car for 15 consecutive years, the bureau said.
Furukawa is one of a number of companies that has been snared in an international bid-rigging probe that investigators believe may be one of the largest in history.
In 2011, in the U.S., Furukawa Electric agreed to plead guilty to charges it had been engaging in price-fixing and bidrigging over a 10-year span.
The company agreed to pay a $200million (U.S.) fine, and three executives would serve prison time in the U.S.