A US federal grand jury indicted three former Japanese airline executives yesterday on charges of fixing rates for air cargo shipments to and from the United States.
Takao Fukuchi, a former president of JAL’s cargo sales division, and Yoshio Kunugi and Naoshige Makino, both previously senior executives of Nippon Cargo Airlines (ANA), played a “pivotal role” in setting cargo shipment rates and conspired to “suppress and eliminate competition,” the indictment said.
The indictment returned in US District Court in Atlanta, Georgia, show that Fukuchi and Kunugi are charged with entering into and participating in the conspiracy from at least as early as December 1999 until at least February 2006. Makino is charged with joining and participating in the conspiracy from June 2001 until February 2006.
The three are alleged to have met, talked about, communicated and fixed cargo rates and coordinated the timing of rate changes.
The indictment is the latest twist in a US probe that has now ensnared 19 airlines from around the globe and 17 executives. These three former executives now face a possible decade in jail and possible huge personal six figure fines if found guilty.
You have to wonder where all of this will end. The previous trials have shown that this process is a domino effect, so we can expect this/these trial(s) to throw up new names that in turn will create new trials. This will run and run.