Canada slaps Mitsubishi with $1 million fine

Canada slaps Mitsubishi with $1 million fine

The Competition Bureau announced Thursday, May 12, that Canada’s Ontario Superior Court of Justice had found Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation guilty of aiding and abetting the implementation of a foreign-directed conspiracy to fix the price of graphite electrodes. The company has been fined CA$1 million for charges that, between 1992 and 1997, it conspired with members a graphite electrode cartel by facilitating a number of conspiracy meetings, arranging transportation, and acting as a translator for the cartel’s members. Mitsubishi is the sixth party convicted by Canadian courts for dealings with the graphite electrodes cartel. Between 1991 and 1995, Mitsubishi was part-owner of graphite electrodes manufacturer UCAR International Inc., now GrafTech International Ltd and a major trader of graphite electrodes throughout the world. Graphite electrodes are an integral component in electric arc furnaces and ladle furnaces used in steel production and in steel refining, respectively. During the conspiracy, Canadian prices for graphite electrodes nearly doubled.