Introduction

This book recounts how a modest number of highly placed managers in prominent multinational companies built and ran three global cartels, a way of doing business that had rarely been seen for half a century. For periods ranging from three to 11 years, these enterprises raised prices and reaped extraordinary profits. Although highly lucrative for the participants in these cartels, the tragic reality is that financial fortunes were created for the few at the expense of the many. The cartels' effectiveness rested on the exploitation of their customers and their customers' customers who traded in markets that were twisted out of their natural shapes. These clandestine conspiracies operated with impunity, but through a combination of serendipity, cupidity, and routine police work they were discovered, investigated, and punished by several of the world's antitrust agencies. The sanctions imposed set historical precedents for severity. In the aftermath of prosecutorial victories lay shattered corporate reputations, broken careers, and a glimmer of hope that the next generation business leaders might learn from the mistakes of the past.