CARTELS – AUSTRALIA

Banks demand criminal cartel case be tossed

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 17-Sep-21

The Federal Court has been urged to throw out a criminal cartel case against banking firms Citi, Deutsche and ANZ and five of their executives. The case relates to a capital raising by the ANZ, which Citi, Deutsche and JP Morgan were underwriting, with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission alleging that the executives came to an "arrangement" after the capital raising to purchase a shortfall of shares to limit supply or maintain ANZ’s share price. Tim Game, SC, appearing for the ANZ, said on 16 September that the prosecution’s indictment fails to establish the particulars of the claims being made.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ACCC under fire as ANZ cartel charges reduced

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Original article by Charlotte Grieve
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 19-Aug-21

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is under scrutiny over its role in prosecuting a cartel case against the ANZ Bank, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions recently dropped all charges against Citi Australia’s former head Stephen Roberts, plus a number of charges against the other five bank executives involved in the case. However, the DPP wants to re-interview JP Morgan bankers who were given immunity from prosecution by the ACCC in return for providing evidence in the case. Sources have claimed that the JP Morgan witnesses are "fast becoming discredited".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

JPMorgan helped identify cartel bankers

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Original article by Pamela Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 6-Dec-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is taking criminal cartel action against the ANZ Bank, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, as well as six of their executives. The ACCC’s action relates to a $2.5 billion capital raising by ANZ, with the ACCC alleging that bankers from the three companies conspired to restrict the supply of or maintain the price of ANZ shares following the capital raising. Former JP Morgan executive Richard Galvin has told the New South Wales Local Court that he had listened to covert phone recordings to help the ACCC identify bankers on the calls.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LOCAL COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Cartels cave as ACCC hits three a year

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 16-Apr-19

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says it plans to run three cartel prosecutions a year for the foreseeable future. He says a memorandum of understanding with the FBI to share information with the ACCC will help it to prosecute criminal cartel behaviour. The ACCC currently has five criminal cartel cases before the courts, covering industries such as banking and construction. Forming a cartel in Australia has only been illegal since 2009, although it has been illegal in the US since 1890.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, NYK LINE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KAWASAKI KISEN KAISHA LIMITED

CFMEU faces cartel criminal charges

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Aug-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has launched legal action against the construction union, alleging that its Australian Capital Territory branch engaged in cartel activity. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s ACT secretary Jason O’Mara has also been charged with cartel offences. He could face up to 10 years’ jail if convicted, while the CFMMEU could be fined up to $10 million or 10 per cent of its turnover. The charges arise from a joint investigation by the ACCC and an Australian Federal Police taskforce in the wake of the trade union royal commission.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fels supports cartel case against banks

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 5-Jun-18

The ANZ Bank, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank are facing criminal charges relating to alleged cartel behaviour regarding the sale of shares that were not taken up in an ANZ capital raising in 2015. The first hearing in the case, which has been instigated by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, is due to take place on 3 July. Former ACCC chairman Allan Fels says the case against the three companies appears to be a very technical one, and that their lawyers will be working hard to come up with a technical defence.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, ADLEY BURSTYNER, NRMA INSURANCE LIMITED

ANZ cartel matter unsettles financial community

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 4-Jun-18

Many legal experts expect that persuading a jury that the parties involved in the ANZ Bank’s cartel case had deliberately sought to break the law will be hard, while others note that a civil case would be easier to win. The Director of Public Prosecutions is pursuing a criminal cartel case against ANZ, Citi and Deutsche Bank on behalf of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. A third investment bank, JP Morgan, has been granted immunity from prosecution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, COUNTRY CARE, UNILEVER PLC, BRITISH VIRGIN, CUSSONS

ACCC raids CFMEU in probe into price-fixing

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Jul-16

The militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union is under scrutiny for potential cartel activity. Its office in Canberra was raided by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and the Australian Federal Police on 26 July 2016, in response to allegations of price-fixing that were raised during hearings of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption. Union boss Dave Noonan has denied that the CFMEU or its officials engaged in such practices.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION