Cargolux will pay a fine of $119 million; Nippon Cargo, $45 million; and Asiana, $50 million.
In addition, three senior air cargo industry executives agreed to serve jail terms.
The latest development is only part of an ongoing cartel probe by the US Justice Department which has resulted in $1.6 billion in fines being levied on 15 carriers with three executives also serving jail terms. Along with the US, competition authorities in the European Union and Australia are also investigating the global price-fixing conspiracy in the air freight industry in what has become one of the world’s largest cartel probes.
Other carriers to have admitted criminal guilt and paid fines in the US include British Airways, Korean Airlines, Qantas, Japan Airlines, Martinair, Cathay Pacific, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Air France and KLM, LAN Cargo, Aerolinhas Brasileiras, and El Al Israel Airlines.
Three executives from BA, Qantas and SAS have previously pleaded guilty and have been given jail terms.
The fixing of cargo rates for international air shipments began as early as September 2001 and continued till February 2006.
“The Department will continue its investigation into this criminal conduct until all co-conspirators are brought to justice,” said Scott D. Hammond, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division. More than 20 airlines are under investigation in the cargo probes.
All three carriers have agreed to cooperate in the continuing investigation, with Cargolux saying in a statement that it has “cooperated intensively with the DoJ and the other authorities throughout the investigation and will continue to do so. Cargolux takes its obligation and commitment to abide by the laws and specifically competition laws very seriously.
“Cargolux has meanwhile reviewed and reinforced its competition compliance program in place, which requires all our staff to fully comply with such requirements at all times,” said chairman of the board of Cargolux, Marc Hoff mann.
