The Fair Trade Commission has ordered eight oil wholesalers to pay about 2 billion yen in penalties for rigging bids in the supply of oil products to the Defense Agency, FTC officials said Thursday.
They are part of a group of 11 oil companies that were warned in November 1999 to stop rigging bids, which the FTC says violated the Antimonopoly Law.
The eight companies that have accepted the warning are Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan Energy Corp., Fuso Sekiyu K.K., General Sekiyu K.K., Kyushu Oil Co., Kygnus Sekiyu K.K., Taiyo Oil Co. and Taiho Industries Co.
The remaining three firms -- Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp., Cosmo Oil Co. and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. -- have refused to accept the warning and are disputing it at an FTC trial.
According to the FTC warning, the 11 oil companies fixed prices or bid-winners on 23 occasions ahead of actual bidding on oil supply contracts worth 160 billion yen from the Defense Agency between April 1995 and November 1998.