US charges 3 ex-Japanese airline execs with price fixing

A US GRAND JURY has indicted three former Japanese airline executives on charges of fixing rates for air cargo shipments to and from the United States, reports Agence France-Presse.

The indictment is the latest arising from a US Justice Department investigation that has now caught 19 airlines and 17 executives in a web of price fixing charges.

Former Japanese Airlines (JAL) sales chief Takao Fukuchi and Yoshio Kunugi and Naoshige Makino, both ex-executives of Nippon Cargo Airlines, played a "pivotal role" in setting cargo shipment rates and conspired to "suppress and eliminate competition," the indictment said. All Nippon Airways (ANA) agreed to plead guilty to two charges of price fixing and to pay a US$73 million fine.

The three now face a possible 10 years in prison and fines of $1 million or more, depending on the illicit gain from shippers, reported The Associated Press. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain they derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by their victims - if either one of those amounts exceeds that of the standard maximum fine.

Accusations arise from activities between 1999 to 2006, when industry participants were said to have agreed to fix cargo rates on scheduled flights. Among the accused are Air France, ANA, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Taiwan's China Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Qantas and SAS. More than $1.7 billion in fines have been imposed. Charges are now pending against 13 others.
(Source:www.schednet.com)