Florida West International Airways indicted in antitrust case
A one-count indictment has been returned in US District Court in Miami charging Miami-based Florida West International Airways, one of its former executives and two executives of a competing air cargo carrier with participating in a conspiracy to fix air cargo prices. The one-count indictment charges Luis Augusto Afanador, Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo and Jaime Lara Rueda Sr with conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing and coordinating certain components of cargo rates, including peak season surcharges as well as security and fuel surcharges, on air cargo shipments from Colombia to Miami. The Department said the conspiracy began at least as early as January 2002 and continued until at least February 2006. Florida West is charged with joining and participating in the conspiracy between as early as August 2002 and February 2006. According to the indictment, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators participated in meetings, conversations and communications to discuss and agree on certain components of cargo rates and the elimination of discounts from Bogota to Miami. To facilitate the agreements reached, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators discussed encouraging air cargo providers to maintain and increase certain components of air cargo rates for shipments from Miami to Bogota. In order to expand the agreements reached, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators agreed not to compete for certain customers from Medellin, Colombia, to Miami beginning in the summer of 2005. As part of the conspiracy, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators implemented and monitored the agreements reached, and accepted payments for shipments at collusive and non-competitive rates. Afanador and Lara are senior executives of a Colombian air cargo carrier based in Bogota. Hidalgo is a former vice president of sales and marketing for Florida West. Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo and Lara are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act. Hidalgo was indicted on October 28th by a Miami grand jury for participating in a separate conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the US to South and Central America following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. That charge is pending. These indictments are part of a US investigation into price-fixing activities in the airfreight industry. To date, a total of 21 airlines and 19 executives have been charged, including Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo and Lara. More than US$1.7 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against the remaining 15 executives. Quelle: eyefortransport Portal: www.logistik-express.com |