Three Jailed Over Marine Hose Industry Cartel

Three men have been imprisoned for rigging bids, fixing prices, restricting supplies and allocating customers within the global marine hose industry following prosecution by the Office of Fair Trading in Britain. This is the first case of its kind since the implementation of a law in 2002, which gave the consumer watchdog the ability to crack down on cartel activities.

The UK-based trio, Peter Whittle, David Brammar and Bryan Allison were sentenced to jail time of up to three years after pleading guilty. The men had already been successfully prosecuted in Texas, but the British stretch will serve towards the 20 to 30 months they were handed by the US court. After sentencing, the OFT named Dunlop Oil and Marine Ltd, Bridgestone Corp, Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd, Parker ITR S.r.l., Manuli Rubber Industries SPA and Trelleborg Industrie SA as the businesses involved in the cartel. An investigation into these companies’ activities, conducted by the European Commission, is ongoing.

Meanwhile the OFT was keen to emphasise their stronger position against cartel activities, as Chief Executive John Fingleton stated: “The OFT will continue to investigate and prosecute cartels vigorously, with the aim of ensuring strong competition within the UK economy.”