The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Monday that NYK had pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal cartel conduct in a Federal court.
The charge relates to the transport of vehicles to Australia between July 2009 and September 2012.
“This is the first criminal charge laid against a corporation under the criminal cartel provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.
NYK faces a maximum fine of which ever is greater of AUD10m ($7.59m), three times the benefit obtained, or if this cannot be determined 10% of its annual turnover in Australia.
ACCC said investigations continued into other alleged participants in the cartel.
In 2015 executives from NYK and K Line were jailed in the US for price fixing involving their car carrier operations.
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