Former Bridgestone Executive Sentenced for Role in Price Fixing

A former Bridgestone Corporation executive has received a two-year prison sentence for his role in the marine hose bribery and price fixing affair uncovered in 2007. On December 9 the US Justice Department announced that Misao Hioki, who entered a guilty plea in a US district court in Houston, Texas, received the prison sentence plus a US$80,000 fine. Hioki is the ninth person to plead guilty during the Justice Department’s investigation.

Mr. Hioki participated in discussions between January 2004 and May 2007 about dividing up the marine hose market in order to push up the prices. He has also been charged with paying off government officials in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela to win business, a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.