|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|||
|
By Daniel Baxter |
||||
 |
August 1, 2010 - Northwest Airlines LLC has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $38 million criminal fine for its role, through Northwest Airlines Cargo, in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry, the Department of Justice announced on Friday. According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Northwest Airlines Cargo, which is no longer in operation, engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to customers in the United States and elsewhere for international air cargo shipments from at least July 2004 until at least February 2006. |
|||
|
|
||||
|
Under the plea
agreement, which is subject to court approval, Northwest Airlines LLC
has agreed to cooperate with the department?s ongoing antitrust
investigation.
Air cargo carriers transport a
variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable
commodities and consumer goods, on scheduled international flights.
During the time period covered by the felony charge, Northwest Airlines
Cargo earned more than $80 million from its air cargo services between
the According to the charge, Northwest Airlines Cargo
carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings, conversations
and communications on certain components of cargo rates for shipments on
routes between the Northwest Airlines LLC is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Including today?s charge, as a result of this investigation, a total of 16 airlines have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty in the Justice Department?s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.6 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against a fifth executive. The airlines that have pleaded guilty as a result of the department?s ongoing investigation into the air transportation industry are: (see Air Carriers Agree To $87 Million Settlement On Price Fixing Scheme) |
||||
