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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO VENUE
The United States of America, acting through its attorneys, charges: I. DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFENSE 1. DEGUSSA U.K. HOLDINGS LTD. ("DEGUSSA") is made a defendant on the charge stated below. 2. Beginning in or about August 1997 and continuing until in or about March 1998, defendant DEGUSSA and its coconspirators entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of organic peroxides ("OP"), specifically t-butyl perbenzoate and t-butyl peracetate dedicated to styrene polymerization ("the Specified OP Products"), to be sold in the United States and elsewhere. The combination and conspiracy engaged in by the defendant and its coconspirators was in unreasonable restraint of interstate and foreign trade and commerce in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1). 3. The charged combination and conspiracy consisted of a continuing agreement, understanding, and concert of action among the defendant and its coconspirators, the substantial terms of which were to agree to fix and maintain prices and to coordinate price increases for the Specified OP Products to be sold in the United States and elsewhere. 4. For the purpose of forming and carrying out the charged combination and conspiracy, the defendant and its coconspirators did those things that they combined and conspired to do, including, among other things:
II. DEFENDANT AND COCONSPIRATORS 5. DEGUSSA is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the United Kingdom. During the time period covered by this Information, DEGUSSA was engaged in the business of producing OP and selling it in the United States and elsewhere, and DEGUSSA had 200 or more employees in its business unit that produced and sold the Specified OP Products. Individuals within the high-level personnel of that business unit participated in, condoned, and were willfully ignorant of offense. 6. Various corporations and individuals, not made defendants in this Information, participated as coconspirators in the offense charged in this Information and performed acts and made statements in furtherance of it. 7. Whenever in this Information reference is made to any act, deed, or transaction of any corporation, the allegation means that the corporation engaged in the act, deed, or transaction by or through its officers, directors, employees, agents, or other representatives while they were actively engaged in the management, direction, control, or transaction of its business affairs. III. TRADE AND COMMERCE 8. The Specified OP Products are industrial chemicals used in the manufacture of certain polystyrene products, including containers and packaging materials. 9. During the time period covered by this Information, the defendant and its coconspirators sold and distributed the Specified OP Products in a continuous and uninterrupted flow of interstate and foreign trade and commerce to customers located in states or countries other than the states or countries in which the defendant and its coconspirators produced the Specified OP Products. 10. During the time period covered by this Information, the volume of commerce attributable to DEGUSSA that was affected by the charged conspiracy was at least $2,831,231. 11. The business activities of the defendant and its coconspirators that are the subject of this Information were within the flow of, and substantially affected, interstate and foreign trade and commerce. ALL IN VIOLATION OF TITLE 15, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1. Dated: 9/20/2004
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