Rubber traders
12 May 2005
Syndial, the Italian company formerly known as Enichem, has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $9 million criminal fine for participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the polychloroprene rubber market.
Polychloroprene rubber, also known as chloroprene rubber, is a synthetic rubber used in a variety of products, including tyres, adhesives, coated fabrics, furniture, and shoes. Syndial sells polychloroprene rubber under its Butaclor brand name.
In a felony case filed by the US Deparrtment of Justice in San Francisco, Syndial was charged with conspiring with its competitors to fix the price of polychloroprene rubber sold in the US and elsewhere from September 1999 to April 2002.
Under a plea agreement, which must be approved by the court, Syndial agreed to assist the US government in its ongoing polychloroprene rubber investigation.
The case is the second prosecution resulting from the Department’s investigation of the polychloroprene rubber industry. On January 19, 2005, the Department charged DuPont Dow Elastomers with participating in the same international conspiracy to fix prices in the polychloroprene rubber market. On March 29, 2005, the company entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to pay an $84 million criminal fine.
