Washington, D.C. -- A bill to strengthen criminal antitrust enforcement written by U.S. Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary, Antitrust Subcommittee, passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent late yesterday. The bill would give the Department of Justice a much-needed tool to investigate and prosecute criminal antitrust violations. The legislation protects consumers from conspiracies like price-fixing and bid-rigging which drive up prices and stifle competition.

The Antitrust Investigative Improvements Act of 2005 would for the first time grant authority to the Justice Department to obtain wiretaps to detect antitrust crimes. By adding criminal antitrust offenses to the list, the Department of Justice would be authorized to seek a wiretap order from a federal judge -- for a limited period of time -- to monitor communications between criminal antitrust conspirators. This legislation would treat criminal antitrust offenses the same as other white-collar offenses such as mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud, for which prosecutors are able to seek wiretap orders upon a showing of probable cause.

"I am pleased my Senate colleagues saw the need to give the Department of Justice this essential tool for investigating criminal antitrust violations. Investigators are able to seek a wiretap order when investigating other white-collar fraud offenses, and it is smart law enforcement policy to allow antitrust enforcers the same investigative tools," said Senator DeWine. "In many instances the harm to innocent consumers from a criminal antitrust conspiracy is much more severe than in other types of white-collar fraud crimes, and this bill would help fight these crimes."

Senator Kohl observed, "Antitrust conspiracies such as price-fixing and bid-rigging steal from consumers just as surely as other white-collar crimes such as mail or wire fraud. Because of their secret nature, antitrust conspiracies are extremely hard to uncover unless prosecutors can penetrate the inner workings of the conspiracy. It is vital that we give law enforcement all the necessary tools to detect these conspiracies."

Under current antitrust law, for a criminal offense, corporations may be fined up to $100 million and individuals may be fined up to $1 million and incarcerated up to 10 years. The Department of Justice criminally prosecutes certain violations of the Sherman Act, such as price-fixing or bid-rigging agreements among competitors.

This bill is co-sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). It now goes to the House for consideration.

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