The former boss of waste management firm Bingo Industries has admitted criminal cartel conduct for the company's participation in an illegal price-fixing scheme.
Daniel Tartak, the company's ex-managing director and chief executive, pleaded guilty in the Federal Court to two cartel offences on Thursday after an investigation by the competition watchdog.
Bingo was accused of agreeing with competitor Aussie Skip Bin Services to fix prices for supplying bins for building and demolition waste in Sydney during 2019 while Tartak was in charge of the company.
The waste outfit in August pleaded guilty to criminal cartel offences over the same cartel agreement and faces fines worth $10 million or more.
An Australian Competition and Consumer Commission probe uncovered the scheme, which affected the prices customers paid for the processing of building waste across Sydney.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said colluding with competitors to increase prices at the expense of customers was serious cartel conduct.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions laid the charges after a referral from the commission.
A sentencing hearing is due to take place in the Federal Court in March next year.
For corporations, the maximum fine for cartel breaches can be $10 million or higher depending on the benefit obtained due to the illegal conduct.
Individuals face a maximum jail term of 10 years in addition to fines.
In a previous statement, Bingo distanced itself from the 2019 conduct, which it said happened over two months that year.
The company said it had co-operated with investigators and regretted the events, adding there had been significant changes in its ownership and management since the events took place.
