BlueScope boss Mark Vassella "was aware of certain aspects" of former employee Jason Ellis' alleged price fixing plans, according to documents filed in the Federal Court of Australia.
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The documents were filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in its cartel case against the Port Kembla steelmaker.
BlueScope has strongly refuted claims any current or former employees took part in any price-fixing and said the ACCC is not taking any action against Mr Vassella.
The case centres around allegations from the ACCC that Ellis, then a general manager in the sales sector of BlueScope, spoke to competing steelmakers between September 2013 and June 2014 to fix the price of Australian steel.
There are also allegations Ellis provided pricing information to international steelmakers and suggested they "would avoid anti-dumping measures being taken" against them if they sold their flat steel product in Australia at a similar price.
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Mr Vassella is now the BlueScope CEO but at the time of Ellis' alleged offences, he was the head of the steelmaker's Australian and New Zealand operations.
According to the ACCC statement of claim, Ellis gave Mr Vassella a report on October 11, 2013, that stated Ellis "had implemented a mechanism to assist Australian steel distributors to increase their prices and improve profitability".
There were also presentations allegedly made by Ellis to Mr Vassella between October 2013 and April 2014 which mentioned the intent to increase profitability by "attempting to set a price floor at which they sold Flat Steel Products".
In February 2014, Mr Vassella also allegedly directed Ellis to tell foreign steelmakers they would be hit with anti-dumping measures if their prices were too low.
The ACCC investigation began in 2017 and civil proceedings launched in August 2019.
Since August last year BlueScope has consistently claimed no employees had engaged in price fixing.
A recent statement from BlueScope said the steelmaker "will strongly defend the proceedings".
"BlueScope has previously conducted an internal investigation in relation to all matters covered in the ACCC's statement of claim," the statement read.
"We remain of the view that neither BlueScope, nor any of its current or former employees referred to in the ACCC's statement of claim, engaged in cartel conduct or attempted to engage in such conduct.
"The ACCC has not alleged that managing director and CEO Mark Vassella was involved in, or directed, any employee to engage in, cartel conduct."
The matter is due to return to court on March 20.