Source: Reuters news
June 27 (Reuters) – An Elna Co executive pleaded guilty to being part of a price-fixing conspiracy involving the Japanese capacitor company and will serve a prison term, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.
Charges against Tokuo Tatai were part of an ongoing investigation into anticompetitive conduct by makers of electrolytic capacitors, which regulate current in electronics including televisions, car engines and office equipment. The probe has led to charges against eight companies and 10 people.
As part of a plea deal, Tatai will serve a prison term of a year and a day, the Justice Department said in a statement. It said he was part of the conspiracy from January 2009 to January 2012.
In February, Elna agreed to pay a $3.8 million fine for violating antitrust laws.
“This capacitors conspiracy affected millions of American consumers who use electronic devices in their everyday lives,” Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, said in the statement. (Reporting by Kara Carlson; Editing by Diane Bartz and Richard Chang)
