Japanese executive pleads guilty to U.S. conspiracy charges

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27/06/2018 22:36

By Kara Carlson
    June 27 (Reuters) - An Elna Co  6972.T  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)
 ((Kara.Carlson@thomsonreuters.com;))