THREE SAMSUNG EXECUTIVES AGREE TO PLEAD GUILTY, SERVE JAIL TIME FOR PARTICIPATING IN DRAM PRICE FIXING CONSPIRACY (DOJ Press Release)
Three executives from Samsung Electronics Company Ltd., the world's largest manufacturer of a common computer component called dynamic random access memory (DRAM), have agreed to plead guilty and to serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix DRAM prices, the Department of Justice announced....
"True deterrence occurs when guilty individuals serve jail terms, and not just when corporations pay criminal fines," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. "These pleas should send a clear message that we will hold accountable all conspirators, whether domestic or foreign, that harm American consumers through their illegal conduct."...
"These are the first executives from Samsung to plead guilty to fixing prices in what is still an active investigation into antitrust violations in the DRAM industry," said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "We will continue our efforts to bring to justice other domestic and foreign-based executives who were involved with fixing DRAM prices."...
The Samsung executives are the third wave of individuals to agree to prison sentences in the DRAM investigation. On March 15, 2006, four Hynix Semiconductor Inc. executives--Dae Soo Kim, Chae Kyun Chung, Kun Chul Suh and Choon Yub Choi--pleaded guilty to the DRAM price-fixing conspiracy. The Hynix employees have been sentenced to serve jail terms ranging from five to eight months and to pay a $250,000 fine. In December 2004, four Infineon executives--T. Rudd Corwin, Peter Schaefer, Gunter Hefner and Heinrich Florian--pleaded guilty to the DRAM price-fixing conspiracy. The Infineon employees served jail terms ranging from four to six months and each paid a $250,000 fine....
Four companies have been charged with price-fixing in the DRAM investigation. Samsung, the world's largest DRAM manufacturer, pleaded guilty to the price-fixing conspiracy and was sentenced to pay a $300 million criminal fine in November 2005. Hynix, the world's second-largest DRAM manufacturer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $185 million criminal fine in May 2005. In January 2006, Japanese manufacturer Elpida Memory agreed to plead guilty and pay an $84 million fine. In October 2004, German manufacturer Infineon pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $160 million criminal fine.
ということで、DRAMカルテルに参加した外国企業4社のうち3社について罰金だけでなく、その社員に対する実刑が合意されたということになります。残る1社は日本のエルピーダ・メモリーです。会社としては、既に950万ドルで和解が成立していますが、個人責任はそれとは別の話になるので、現在司法当局と激しい綱引きが行われているのかも知れません。
2年前に日本企業の社員がソルビン酸カルテルで初めて実刑を受けることになりましたが(DOJリリース)、反トラスト法の問題、とりわけカルテルは非常に大きなリスク要因ということで、企業としてのコンプライアンスを考える上で念頭に入れておくと宜しいかと。
こちらは、NYTの記事です。
3 to Plead Guilty in Samsung Price-Fixing Case (New York Times)
