German Auto Supplier Admits To Rigging Bids In Favor of Ford: Feds

DETROIT, MI — A German automotive parts manufacturer that makes car locks and door latches pleaded guilty to bid-rigging in Detroit federal court and agreed to pay a $6.1 million criminal fine, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Heiligenhaus, Germany-based Kiekart AG admitted it in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan that it conspired to eliminate competition for the side-door latches and latch minimodules that were sold to Ford Motor Co. and its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere from September 2008 to May 2013.

Tuesday’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Including Kiekert, 48 companies and 65 executives have been charged in the division’s ongoing investigation and have agreed to pay a total of more than $2.9 billion in criminal fines.

Kiekert officials participated in meetings and communications with representatives of another major side-door latch producer, during which they agreed to allocate sales, rig bids and fix prices submitted to Ford, according to the charges.

Side-door latches secure car doors to the body. Latch minimodules include the side-door latch and all related mechanical operating components, including the electronic lock function.

In addition to Kiekert’s agreement to pay a $6.1 million criminal fine, the manufacturer has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.

According to the charges, Kiekert officials participated in meetings and communications with representatives of another major side-door latch producer, during which they agreed to allocate sales, rig bids and fix prices submitted to Ford. To effectuate those agreements, the conspirators exchanged information on bids and price quotations for submission to Ford.

The charges were brought by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Detroit Field Office with the assistance of the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit.

The government said anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at (888) 647-3258, visit the website or call the FBI’s Detroit Field Office at (313) 965-2323.

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