Justice Dept. says Autoliv agrees to plead guilty
Jun 6, 2012, 10:22 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department says Autoliv Inc. of Sweden has agreed to plead guilty in a conspiracy to fix prices of seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels installed in some U.S. cars.
In an ongoing investigation of the auto parts industry, the Justice Department also says an executive of Japanese-based Yazaki Corp. has agreed to plead guilty in a conspiracy to fix prices of auto wire harnesses and related products on U.S. cars.
Under the agreement, Autoliv will pay a $14.5 million criminal fine and Yazaki executive Kazuhiko Kashimoto will serve 14 months in a U.S. prison.
To date, six companies and 10 people have been charged in the investigation of price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry.
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