Waste companies Aussie Skips Recycling and Aussie Skips Bin Services (together Aussie Skips) have been charged with two criminal cartel offences relating to price fixing for demolition waste services in Sydney.
Aussie Skips’ chief executive Emmanuel Roussakis has also been charged with one criminal cartel offence for his involvement in the alleged conduct.
Aussie Skips and Roussakis were charged with these offences after an investigation by the ACCC and referral to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
These charges follow guilty pleas by waste company Bingo Industries and its former managing director and chief executive Daniel Tartak to criminal cartel offences for their involvement in the same alleged cartel.
It is alleged that in mid-2019, Aussie Skips and Bingo agreed to increase and fix prices for the supply of skip bins and processing services for building and demolition waste in Sydney.
“Cartel conduct is a serious offence which causes significant damage to competition, to consumers and to the wider economy,” said ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh.
“The ACCC will continue to investigate and take enforcement action for cartel conduct following tip-offs from insiders, whistleblowers, customers and others. Enforcement action can include civil proceedings for pecuniary penalties or, as in this case, referral to the CDPP for potential criminal prosecution.”
These matters will be listed for case management in the Federal Court at a later stage.
An individual convicted of a criminal cartel offence may be sentenced to up to 10 years’ imprisonment or fined up to $444,000, or both.
For corporations, the maximum fine for each criminal cartel offence before November 9, 2022 is the greater of:
$10 million
three times the total benefit that has been obtained and which is reasonably attributable to the commission of the offence, or
if the value of the benefit obtained cannot be determined, 10 per cent of the corporation’s annual turnover connected with Australia.
Big Rigs has approached Aussie Skips for comment.
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