Interpol hunts ex-SAS Cargo executive

SAS Cargo’s former vice-president global sales, Jan Lillieborg (pictured), is on the run from Interpol for allegedly trying to cover up evidence of price-fixing.

Lillieborg has been indicted on three counts by the US Department of Justice. Of these, two counts were under Title 18 of the Federal Criminal Code – obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was also indicted on one count under Title 15 of price fixing under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Timothy Pfiel, previously SAS Cargo’s area director of sales and marketing for the Americas, spent six months in a Federal prison following his conviction for his part in helping to fix cargo prices between 15 airlines, including SAS, from 2002 to 2006. He testified that Lillieborg ordered the destruction of documents relating to those charges on the same day that the Danish Competition Council raided the company’s Copenhagen offices in February 2006.

With the law breathing down Lillieborg’s neck, subsequent employer Green Cargo fired him, according to spokesman Mats Hollander, because “you can’t function as an executive at Green Cargo with an Interpol search hanging over your head”.

Now Lillieborg can’t be found and Interpol are working on the assumption that he has gone on the run to escape prison time in the US.

SAS has already paid a kr294 million (US$56.5 million) fine for its part in cargo price-fixing but is likely to have to pay another one when the European Commission completes its own ongoing investigation.