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ARTICLE · 27 JULY 2016

Australia pursues its first criminal cartel prosecution

Clayton Utz
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Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha pleaded guilty to criminal cartel conduct in the Federal Court.

AustraliaAntitrust/Competition Law
Michael Corrigan
Michael Corrigan
Kirsten Webb
Kirsten Webb
Randal Dennings
Randal Dennings
Brian O'Callaghan
Brian O'Callaghan
Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Fred Prickett
Fred Prickett
Scott Crabb
Scott Crabb
Paul Fitzpatrick
Paul Fitzpatrick
Bruce Lloyd
Bruce Lloyd
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This week, Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) pleaded guilty to criminal cartel conduct in the Federal Court. It is the first time, since the criminal cartel conduct provisions were introduced on 24 July 2009, that criminal charges have been deployed in Australia - and, as Australia's competition regulator indicated following yesterday's hearing, it is unlikely to be the last:

"We have 10 to 12 detailed investigations under way and we're trying to lay the platform for a continuing stream of criminal cartels."

Background

On 14 July 2016, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) (equivalent to the Crown Prosecution Service in the United Kingdom) filed criminal proceedings against NYK on a reference from the ACCC.

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