Steel trio face price-fixing indictments

Written by Writer on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Steel trio face price-fixing indictments

The Fair Trade Commission filed a criminal complaint with Tokyo prosecutors Tuesday against Nisshin Steel Co. and two other makers of zinc-coated steel sheet for conspiring to fix the prices of their products, the antimonopoly watchdog said.

The two others are Nippon Steel & Sumikin Coated Sheet Corp., a Nippon Steel Corp. subsidiary based in Tokyo, and Yodogawa Steel Works Ltd., known as Yodoko and based in Osaka, FTC officials said.

Acting on the complaint, investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office started criminal proceedings against the three companies, the officials said, adding that their head offices and other locations will be searched soon.

The antimonopoly watchdog raided the three firms’ head offices as well as JFE Galvanizing & Coating Co. in January on suspicion that they conspired to fix prices of steel sheets used in building materials.

The prosecutors will build a criminal case against the three makers and some of their officials on suspicion of forming an illicit cartel to fix prices of zinc-coated steel sheets in breach of the Antimonopoly Law, the officials said.

The Japan Times
Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008