Another Guilty Plea from RoRo Shipping Line for Antitrust Cartel Activities

AUSTRALIA – Japanese shipping firm Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), has entered a guilty plea in the Federal Court of Australia to criminal cartel conduct, following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions laid charges against the shipper in relation to cartel conduct concerning the international RoRo shipping of cars, trucks, and buses to Australia, an antitrust conspiracy charge the company has faced several times before in different countries.

This is the second guilty plea in Australia in relation to this cartel. On July 18, 2016, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) pleaded guilty to criminal cartel conduct. On August 3, 2017, NYK was convicted and fined $25 million.

K Line is a global organisation with offices in Europe, Africa, Northeast Asia, South East Asia, Japan, North America, Central America, South America, India, the Middle East and Oceania, including Australia. It has over 8,000 employees and is headquartered in Tokyo. It also has an Australian subsidiary, K-Line (Australia) Pty Ltd.

The matter will now proceed to sentencing and is next scheduled for a sentencing hearing in the Federal Court on November 15th and 16th. The ACCC’s investigation into other alleged cartel participants is continuing.