On April 4, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice
("DOJ") announced its first successful extradition to the
United States on an antitrust charge. Romano Pisciotti, an Italian
national and a former executive with Parker ITR Srl, was
transferred from Germany to the United States last week to face
criminal price fixing charges. While the DOJ previously has
extradited a foreign national on obstruction of justice charges
relating to a criminal antitrust investigation, Pisciotti's
extradition is the first instance in which the DOJ extradited a
defendant solely based on antitrust charges.
According to a one-count felony indictment, Pisciotti was part of
an international cartel that fixed prices and rigged bids in the
market for marine hose, a flexible hose used to transfer oil
between tankers and storage facilities. Five companies and nine
individuals have pled guilty in connection with the conspiracy.
Pisciotti is charged with violating the Sherman Act, which carries
a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal
fine for individuals.
The Antitrust Division frequently places targets of an
investigation, or individuals indicted for antitrust offenses such
as Pisciotti, on the government's "border watch"
list. Under this program, if the individual attempts to travel in
or out of the United States, he or she could be stopped by customs
officials, questioned, and even arrested. Likewise, the Antitrust
Division has utilized INTERPOL's "Red Notice" system,
an international "wanted list" monitored by
INTERPOL's member countries, to capture and detain fugitives
traveling between foreign jurisdictions. As the DOJ has put it,
"even if a fugitive resides in a country that would not
extradite the defendant to the United States for an antitrust
offense, the fugitive still runs the risk of being extradited if he
travels outside of his home country." If a wanted individual
travels to a country where he or she is on a Red Notice list, that
country may choose to detain the individual and entertain an
extradition request from the United States.
This is precisely what happened in this matter. Pisciotti was
traveling back to Italy from Nigeria in June 2013 when he was
arrested in a German airport. He was held in Germany until being
transferred to the United States last week. Since then, a U.S.
magistrate judge granted the DOJ's request to hold Pisciotti in
custody in the United States pending his trial. Meanwhile,
Pisciotti continues to seek review of the circumstances of his
extradition both in Italy and in the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg, France, arguing that EU law should apply and that he
was a victim of "discrimination on the basis of
nationality" by Germany.
Pisciotti's extradition is yet another signal that the DOJ will
continue to aggressively enforce the U.S. antitrust laws against
anyone who sells products in the United States, regardless of where
that person resides. The extradition is also an indication that,
due to increasing cooperation between the United States and other
countries, foreign nationals suspected of antitrust violations are
at risk of extradition to the United States even when they travel
outside of the United States.
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