Former Martinair Executive Pleads Guilty in US Air Cargo Price-Fixing Conspiracy

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Franciscus Johannes de Jong, former vice president of cargo sales in Europe for Martinair, will plead guilty to a price-fixing conspiracy. He faces eight months in jail and a $20,000 criminal fine. The conspiracy involved setting prices and coordinating fuel surcharges for international air cargo shipments to and from the United States between April 2002 and February 2006.

The Department of Justice stated that the cartel targeted a critical piece of the United States economy. This case is part of an ongoing investigation into conspiracy to fix prices in air shipments, which has already resulted in fines exceeding $1.6 billion and multiple convictions.