In 2012, the Antitrust Division (Division) of the U.S.
Department of Justice won several significant convictions, both at
trial and through guilty pleas, while the merger enforcement
efforts of the Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
blocked or modified a handful of transactions. Elsewhere, the
European Commission's (EC's) cartel program continued
unabated, while the EC blocked one of the most closely watched
mergers of the year.
Criminal Cases and Investigations
- TFT-LCD Price-Fixing
Trial: After an eight-week jury trial, the Division
obtained price-fixing convictions against AU Optronics, a Taiwanese
LCD manufacturer; its U.S. subsidiary; and two of its senior
executives. Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California subsequently levied a $500 million
fine against the company, the largest antitrust fine imposed since
Hoffmann La Roche pleaded guilty to fixing the price of numerous
vitamins in 1999.
