In September 2011, the Department of Justice formally announced the first settlement in its investigations into an international automobile parts price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy.1 What has become the largest criminal antitrust investigation in American history began with the guilty plea of a Japanese automotive wire harness manufacturer. As the first casualty of the inquiry into an auto parts cartel, the company was required to pay a $200 million fine, and three executives were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year to 18 months.2
In the three years since the guilty plea, the Justice Department has continued the auto parts investigations, charging more than 30 individuals and 27 companies with antitrust violations, collecting more than $2.3 billion in fines, and demonstrating its resolve in ferreting out bid-rigging, customer allocation and price-fixing across a wide range of industries. With new indictments as recently as Oct. 17, 2014, the investigation continues to move forward at full steam.
