Valparaiso-based CSAV says the US Department of Justice and Canada’s Competition Office have subpoenaed several employees but declined to identify them by name or rank.
“According to the information gathered by CSAV up to now, such investigation seeks to inquire into the existence of antitrust law violations related to cooperation agreements on prices and allocation of clients between car carriers,” it wrote in a statement.
The company says it has notified the Chilean Securities and Insurance Supervisor about the investigation, which has triggered CSAV’s own internal probe.
“CSAV´s Board of Directors, after becoming aware of the facts, has immediately instructed the company management to provide maximum cooperation in connection with this matter,” it added.
The Competition Office declined to comment on the investigation when contacted by TradeWinds and calls to the US Department of Justice were not immediately returned on Friday.
A similar probe is underway in Tokyo where authorities recently raided the offices of NYK, K Line, MOL, Eukor and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) and others amid suspensions that some of the world’s largest car-carrier operators may have violated Japanese anti-monopoly laws.
Last week, a handful of Wilhelmsen units were subpoenaed by US, Canadian and EU investigatorsas well.At the time it was quick to point out: "The fact that such inspections are carried out and that requests for information have been sent out does not mean that the companies have engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.”
