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30-Aug-2010 8:45 AM

Former Asiana executives indicted in conspiracy to fix fares

US Department of Justice stated (26-Aug-2010) a Brooklyn Grand Jury (US District Court Brooklyn) returned an indictment against two former executives of Asiana Airlines for participating in a conspiracy to fix economy-class airfares paid by passengers for travel from the US to the Republic of Korea. The one-count indictment charges Joo Ahn Kang (President from Dec-2005 to Nov-2008) and Chung Sik Kwak, each former VPs of the Americas for Asiana, with "conspiring with others to suppress and eliminate competition" by fixing passenger fares for passenger transportation services from certain airports in the US to Korea from in or about and between Jan-2000 and Feb-2006". Mr Kang and Mr Kwak are charged with violating the Sherman Act, a violation which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a USD1 million fine. A total of 16 airlines and four executives 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, fines of more than USD1.6 billion have been imposed and all of the pleading executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. [more]

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