Japan’s Electech Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing

G.S. Electech has agreed to plead guilty in U.S. federal court to a felony charge of participating in a wide-ranging bid-rigging scheme among auto suppliers.

The U.S. Dept. of Justice says the Toyota City, Japan-based company will pay a $2.8 million fine. Electech admits to conspiring with unnamed competitors in 2003-2010 to fix prices for speed sensor wire assemblies used in antilock braking systems. None of the company's executives has been charged.

The charges are the result of an ongoing investigation of suppliers by government authorities in Europe, Japan and the U.S. Since November Denso, Furukawa Electric and Yazaki have pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges and agreed to pay about $750 million in fines. Seven executives from the three companies have been sentenced to prison terms of one to two years.