NOT FOR RELEASE-FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
AT (202) 514-2007WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE
ANTITRUST DIVISION TO PRESENT LYSINE CARTEL TAPES AT ABA'S 48 TH ANNUAL SPRING MEETING
WASHINGTON, D.C. - James M. Griffin, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the
Department's Antitrust Division will address the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law at their 48th Annual Spring Meeting, Thursday, April 6, 2000, on the characteristics of international cartels.
Mr. Griffin will provide an inside look at a cartel at work including, how cartels are initiated, how they operate and how they attempt to conceal their activity from law enforcement. In doing this, Mr. Griffin will present audio and video tapes of actual meetings involving members of the lysine cartel, including former top executives from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM).
The lysine tapes offer a insider's view of the inner workings of an international cartel, where executives from multi-national firms reach agreements with each other to split up world markets by allocating sales volumes among the cartel members and agreeing on what prices would be charged to customers worldwide.
DATE: Thursday, April 6, 2000
TIME: 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
PLACE: Omni Shoreham Hotel
Hampton Room
2500 Calvert Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
ADM and its co-conspirators from Europe and Asia conspired to fix prices and allocate sales volumes of the food additive citric acid and the feed additive lysine. ADM pleaded guilty before trial and was sentenced to pay a $100 million criminal antitrust fine. The ADM executives were convicted at trial and were recently sentenced to pay fines of up to $350,000 and to serve prison terms ranging from 24 to 30 months.
To date, the Antitrust Division has vigorously prosecuted numerous corporations and individuals for their participation in international cartels in the lysine, citric acid, vitamin, graphite electrodes, marine construction, marine transportation, explosives, sorbates, and sodium gluconate industries. The Division has successfully collected more than $1 billion in criminal antitrust fines, as a result of these prosecutions.
Copies of the tape shown, as well as the transcripts of the tape segments will be made available by request only. Please mail your request to the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, Freedom of Information Act Unit, 325 Seventh Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington D.C. 20530.
NOTE: This information is for planning purposes only and may not be released or distributed.
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