NYK Pleads Guilty to Criminal-Cartel Conduct in Australia's Federal Court

SYDNEY—Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha has pleaded guilty to criminal-cartel conduct in Australia's Federal Court, the country's antitrust watchdog said Monday, as regulators around the world continue a global dragnet into the automotive shipping industry.

The plea follows an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which said the charge relates to the transportation of vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses, to Australia between July 2009 and September 2012.

The matter is scheduled for a directions hearing on Sept. 12. Spokespeople from NYK weren't immediately available to comment.

The case against NYK, one of the world's biggest and oldest marine companies, is the first criminal charge laid against a corporation under Australia's competition and consumer law. The ACCC said it is continuing to investigate other alleged cartel participants.

For corporations, the maximum fine in Australia for each criminal-cartel offense is the greater of 10 million Australian dollars (US$7.6 million); three times the benefits obtained from the offense; or if the benefits can't be determined, 10% of the corporation's annual turnover connected to Australia.

Government investigators in Japan, China, South Africa and the U.S. began investigating price-fixing in the automobile transportation industry in 2012, and shipping companies have paid fees amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in multiple countries.

Last week, Norwegian ocean carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of price-fixing and bid-rigging, the fourth company specializing in transporting automobiles internationally to be charged. It will pay a fine of US$98.9 million.

In the U.S., federal investigators have already indicted executives or reached settlements with NYK, as well as Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., or K-Line, and Chile's Compañ ia Sudamericana de Vapores SA, resulting in fines of more than US$300 million in total, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website.

NYK is one of the world's largest shipping companies, with offices in Europe, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, China, Oceania, including Australia, and North and South America. It has more than 33,000 employees and its headquarters is in Tokyo. It also operates an Australian subsidiary, NYK Line (Australia) Pty Ltd.

The ACCC said it wouldn't comment further on the case because it is still before the court.

Write to Rebecca Thurlow at rebecca.thurlow@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2016 23:15 ET (03:15 GMT)

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