US indicts former Air France Cargo execs

A US court has indicted two former Air France Cargo executives for conspiring to fix airfreight surcharges and rates.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ), which brought the case to court, claims Marc Boudier (near right), former executive vice-president cargo, and Jean Charles Foucault (far right), former vice-president cargo, sales and marketing, participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as August 2004 until February 2006. They are said to have participated in, or directed the participation of subordinate employees in, meetings and communications to discuss rates for air cargo shipments.

As well as fixing surcharges and rates to and from locations within the US and elsewhere, they are also charged with refusing to pay their customers commissions on surcharges.

Boudier and Foucault face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a US$1 million fine each. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory amount.

A total of 21 airlines and 21 executives, including Boudier and Foucault, have been charged in the DoJ’s ongoing investigation into cargo price fixing. To date, more than $1.8 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives, such as British Airways’ Keith Packer, have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against the remaining 17 executives, including Boudier and Foucault.

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