Two Denso Execs to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing

Two Denso Corp. executives have agreed to plead guilty in a U.S. federal court to conspiring to fix prices of electronic control units and heater control panels sold to Toyota Motor Corp., according to the Dept. of Justice.

The executives, who are both Japanese nationals, admit to manipulating parts prices in 2005-2008. Senior manager Yuji Suzuki and group leader Hiroshi Watanabe have each agreed to pay a $20,000 fine, serve 15 to 16 months in a U.S. prison and cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

In March 2012 Denso pleaded guilty in the U.S. to rigging bids and fixing prices of those components. The company agreed to pay a $78 million criminal fine. At that time, another Denso executive, Norihiro Imai, admitted guilt and agreed to pay a $20,000 fine and serve about one year in prison.

The guilty pleas are the result of an ongoing investigation of cartel activity among auto suppliers by government authorities in Europe, Japan and the U.S.

Thus far in the U.S., nine companies and 14 executives, including Suzuki and Watanabe, have pleaded guilty to price fixing. The companies have been fined a combined $809 million. The 12 executives already sentenced have been fined and sent to prison for one to two years.