As a result of fixing prices in the car carrier business, an executive of Japan-based Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line) has been sentenced to 18 months in a US prison.
According to World Maritime News, Hiroshige Tanioka was responsible rigging bids and fixing prices on roll-on, roll-off cargo in the US, most notably perhaps at the Port of Baltimore.
Tanioka participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as April 1998 until April 2012.
Speaking of the implications, Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division, said: “For more than a decade this conspiracy has raised the cost of importing cars and trucks into the United States.
“Today’s sentencing is a first step in our continuing efforts to ensure that the executives responsible for this misconduct are held accountable.”
In November 2014, Tanioka’s employer K-Line was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of US$67.7 million.
Tanioka was fined $20,000 for his participation and has agreed to assist the DoJ in its ongoing investigation into the ocean shipping industry.