Tyremaker Bridgestone has agreed to pay a US$28m criminal fine for taking part in bid-rigging and bribery conspiracies in 1999-2007 that influenced prices for ”hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of marine hose and related products sold worldwide, the US Justice Department said.
The Tokyo-headquartered manufacturer will plead guilty to two counts of charges filed in the US District Court in Houston, the department said, according to Kyodo News. The firm allegedly conspired to rig bids, fix prices and allocate market shares of marine hose in the United States and elsewhere.
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The department also alleged that Bridgestone conspired to bribe Latin American officials to win and retain business.
Meanwhile, the department said it agreed to recommend a ”substantially reduced fine” for Bridgestone in recognition of its cooperation with the investigations and implementation of ”extensive remediation.”
Bridgestone told Kyodo it had entered into the plea agreement stressing that it has ”cooperated fully” with the investigations. The firm also said it had decided to withdraw from the marine hose business.
