Bumble Bee white albacore tuna. (Photo: Bumble Bee)

Bumble Bee to plead guilty to conspiracy role

UNITED STATES
Wednesday, May 10, 2017, 02:30 (GMT + 9)

Bumble Bee Foods LLC has agreed to plead guilty for its role in a conspiracy to set shelf-stable tuna prices sold in the United States, which is subject to court approval, and will have to pay a USD 25 million criminal fine. 

The announcement was made by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), who recalled that in 2015 it had stopped Thai Union Group from buying it.

In its complaint, the Justice Department said that executives from Bumble Bee and unnamed other companies held "discussions and attended meetings" from 2011 to 2013 "to fix, raise, and maintain the prices of packaged seafood."

According to a one of the charges against the firm, aided by its co-conspirators it did so from the first quarter of 2011 to the fourth quarter of 2013.

Meanwhile, Bumble Bee's representatives said in a statement that the firm had "fully cooperated" with the Justice Department.

"We have established strong guidelines and new internal policies for our path forward, which is being overseen by a chief compliance officer that we hired last fall," said General Counsel Jill Irvin in a statement.

"The company has taken this matter very seriously and fully cooperated with the DOJ from the start of the investigation. We accept full responsibility for needing to earn back any lost trust in our company and will do so by acting with integrity and transparency in every way we operate our business," the entrepreneur concluded.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division explained that this charge is the third one to be filed – and the first one to be filed against a corporate defendant – in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into price fixing among some of the largest suppliers of packaged seafood.

"The (Antitrust) Division, along with our law enforcement colleagues, will continue to hold these companies and their executives accountable for conduct that targeted a staple in American households," he said.

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Print