[120211.EN.AIR] Singapore Airlines Cargo To Pay US$48.8 Million US Price Fixing Fine

THE cargo unit of Singapore Airlines (SIA) will pay a S$62.5 million (US$48.8 million) fine to the US Justice Department for price-fixing, though it is still appealing similar European Union and Korean fines. 

In the US case, SIA Cargo pleaded guilty to conspiring with other air cargo companies to fix rates on international shipments, reported Channel News Asia.

Responding to MediaCorp questions, the company said it "will not be pleading guilty in other jurisdictions, which include Australia and New Zealand".

The US judge presiding over the case has said that the offence involves "significant misconduct in the marketplace", adding that the fine is "at the top of the guideline range".

SIA Cargo's case is part of a broader investigation by the US Justice Department into cargo price-fixing in which a total of 21 airlines and 19 executives have been charged and more than US$1.7 billion in fines have been levied.

Other airlines that have agreed to pay fines in the investigation are Polar Air Cargo, a unit of Atlas Air Worldwide; Air France-KLM; Cathay Pacific Airways; SAS Cargo Group and Martinair, a unit of KLM.

SIA had said during the release of its third quarter results last month that it had set aside a total of S$199 million for the fines imposed by the US, the EU and Korea. 

Source : HKSG, 11.02.11.