October 26, 2021
The former export manager of Alkaloids of Australia Pty Ltd pleaded guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges linked to cartel conduct.
Christopher Kenneth Joyce faced the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney.
Joyce – and Alkaloids of Australia – were charged on December 1 last year after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Joyce pleaded guilty to three charges, and admitted his guilt in respect of seven further offences, relating to his conduct in relation to alleged price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation cartel arrangements with overseas suppliers.
The conduct extended for about eight years from July 2009, when criminal cartel laws came into force in Australia
Joyce has been committed to the Federal Court for sentencing. The matter is listed for a case management hearing on November 10.
An individual convicted of a criminal cartel offence could face up to 10 years’ jail or be fined up to $444,000, or both.
Alkaloids of Australia is yet to enter pleas to the charges it is facing.
This matter is listed for November 9 in the Downing Centre Local Court.
Alkaloids of Australia is headquartered in Sydney but operates a major facility at Memerambi to process duboisia.
The company produces and supplies scopolamine N-butylbromide, also known as hyoscine butylbromide, the active ingredient in antispasmodic medications taken to relieve stomach pain and bowel cramps.
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