WWL to pay $98.9m price fixing fine

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $98.9 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices on international ocean shipments of roll-on/roll-off cargo.    Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), one of the largest operators of ocean-going car carriers and a major provider of auto logistics services, has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $98.9 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices on international ocean shipments of roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargo to and from the Port of Baltimore and other locations in the United States.
   RoRo cargo includes goods such as new and used cars, trucks, mining, construction and agricultural equipment.
   The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said it filed a one-count felony charge Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, claiming WWL conspired with RoRo ocean shipping lines from at least February 2000 until at least September 2012 to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers.
   “WWL and its co-conspirators cheated their customers for years by fixing the prices of ocean shipping services for cars, trucks and other cargo essential to our nation’s economy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata B. Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division, working together with our law enforcement colleagues, will continue to hold the ocean shipping companies and executives who perpetrated this scheme accountable for their crimes.”
   WWL is the fourth company to agree to plead guilty in the investigation, which has resulted in over $230 million in agreed-upon fines. In addition, eight executives have been charged for their participation in the conspiracy. Four have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison terms. The other four executives have been indicted, but remain fugitives from justice.
   “These charges brought today, and for the prior eight executives charged, outline a deceptive scheme to destabilize competition in the marketplace,” said Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Baltimore Division. “Those who engage in this type of criminal activity with the intent on corrupting our economy will be identified and brought to justice. To ensure we don’t erode the public’s trust in the competitive bidding process, the FBI will continue to work with the Antitrust Division to ensure the integrity of competition across all industries.”
   In addition to paying its fine, WWL has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.