Cartel

Three men plead guilty in first U.K. criminal cartel conviction

Two former executives at Continental AG's U.K. unit and another businessman already sentenced in the U.S. for price-fixing pleaded guilty to similar cartel-related offenses in London today.

Bryan Allison, David Brammar and Peter Whittle, each admitted to participating in a cartel to fix prices and rig bids for the supply of hoses used in the oil industry. The case is part of an investigation that has seen as many as 10 executives at British, French, Japanese and Italian companies charged in the U.S.

The men are the first to be convicted of criminal antitrust offenses by a U.K. court. Cartels were criminalized under the Enterprise Act of 2002, which imposes a penalty of as much as five years in prison and an unlimited fine. The men will be sentenced later today or tomorrow by Judge Geoffrey Rivlin.

Whittle owned a consulting firm that worked for Grimsby, England-based Dunlop Oil & Marine in the U.K. Allison was Dunlop's managing director and Brammar was its sales and marketing director.

The men spoke only to confirm their names and enter pleas before prosecutors began to outline the case against them. Their lawyers will present mitigating arguments when the prosecution finishes.

They have already pleaded guilty in the U.S. and were allowed to return to the U.K. in January to face charges in a plea-bargaining agreement.

In pleading guilty to the U.S. charges, they agreed to pay fines and serve between 20 and 30 months in prison. The U.S. Justice Department said at the time that their sentences were the longest handed out to foreign nationals for antitrust crimes.

(Published by Bloomberg - june 10, 2008)