Prosecuting Antitrust Crimes

Remarks by Bill Baer, Assistant US Attorney General, on prosecuting antitrust cases. This year my focus is on criminal enforcement-on our approach to companies and executives that conspire to fix prices, rig bids, or allocate markets. The Supreme Court puts it succinctly, calling cartels "the supreme evil of antitrust." There is no more important work we do. Those who conspire to subvert the free market system and injure U.S. consumers are prosecuted vigorously and penalized appropriately. Our record demonstrates that corporations that commit these crimes face serious consequences, including significant criminal fines and, in appropriate cases, tough probation terms. Individual wrongdoers risk lengthy sentences.