A former executive at Chile’s Compania Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV) on Tuesday was indicted by a US grand jury in Maryland on charges of bid rigging and price fixing in US ports.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) said Mauricio Javier Garrido Garcia, a former executive at CSAV, had engaged in rigging bids and prices for roro cargo – including cars, trucks, construction equipment and agricultural machinery – since at least as far back as the year 2000 and up to at least as recently as September 2012 at Baltimore and other ports.
These charges are part of a wider investigation that has seen seven other executives charged. Four of those have been convicted and jailed while three are considered fugitives from justice.
An FBI investigator on the case said the scheme was a deception to destabilize competition in the marketplace.
CSAV, along with Japanese companies NYK and K Line, have already pleaded guilty and agreed to pay criminal fines totalling more than $136m.
