AmericasAsiaOperations

NYK employee gets 15 months in US jail for price fixing conspiracy

San Francisco: An employee of Japanese shipping giant NYK was sentenced to 15 months in a US prison and fined $20,000 after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix prices for roll on/roll off transportation services.

Susumu Tanaka, who was a manager in NYK’s car carrier division, conspired to allocate customers and routes, rig bids and fix prices for the sale of international ocean shipments of roll-on/roll-off cargo to and from the US and elsewhere.

Tanaka, who participated in the conspiracy from at least April 2004 until at least September 2012, has agreed to assist authorities in the continuing investigation into the ocean shipping industry.

The sentence is the third against an individual in the investigation, and the first against an NYK employee. Two K Line employees were sentenced previously after pleading guilty to the charges – Hiroshige Tanioka was given 18 months in January while Takashi Yamaguchi, received 14 months in February. Both were also fined $20,000.

Three corporations – NYK, K Line and CSAV – have also agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal fines totaling more than $136 million.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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