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DOJ Settlement With A Firm Involved in Bid Rigging For US Military Bases In South Korea

By  |  April 9, 2020

South Korea-based company Jier Shin Korea and its president, Sang Joo Lee, have agreed to pay US$2 million to the United States for civil antitrust and False Claims Act violations for their involvement in a bid-rigging conspiracy that targeted contracts to supply fuel to US military bases in South Korea, the Department of Justice announced. 

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    The United States previously reached civil settlements totaling over US$205 million relating to the conspiracy with GS Caltex Corporation, Hanjin Transportation, Hyundai Oilbank, SK Energy, and S-Oil Corporation. As with the prior civil settlements, this settlement reflects the important role of both Section 4A of the Clayton Act and the False Claims Act to ensure that the United States is compensated when it is the victim of anticompetitive conduct. 

    “Today’s settlement represents the final chapter of our efforts to use Section 4A of the Clayton Act to ensure that the companies involved in this conspiracy compensate American taxpayers for their anticompetitive activity,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division. “Together, these are the largest Section 4A settlements in American history, and we will continue to use this important enforcement tool when taxpayers are harmed by cartels.”

    “This is the sixth False Claims Act settlement arising from the bid rigging of contracts to supply fuel to US military bases in South Korea,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Civil Division. “We will pursue and hold accountable those who seek to defraud the American taxpayers, including those who conspire with others to do so.”

    “You will pay the price if you rig bids and especially if you target our military bases while doing so,” said US Attorney David M. DeVillers for the Southern District of Ohio. “Today’s settlement shows that we will not stop until we hold accountable all responsible parties.”

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