During this era, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division played a critical role in challenging these anticompetitive
price-fixing agreements that injured American consumers.
Fifteen airlines and three executives have been prosecuted to date for their participation in
price-fixing agreements that inflicted a heavy toll on American businesses and consumers as well as the global economy,'' said Scott Hammond, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the department's Antitrust Division.
Companies directly affected by the LCD
price-fixing conspiracies are some of the largest computer, television and cellular telephone manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and Motorola.
Under section 188 of the Act it is an offence for individuals dishonestly to agree that businesses will engage in certain types of cartel activity, namely
price-fixing, limiting supply or production, marketsharing and bid-rigging.
In February this year, BA and Virgin agreed to settle a US class-action lawsuit which a firm representing plaintiffs said could see the two carriers paying more than pounds 100 million to passengers affected by the
price-fixing.
Price-fixing has no other function than to restrict competition.
Unscrupulous businessmen will be happy to hear this announcement of
price-fixing.
Tobacco giants Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher are also named in the Office of Fair Trading probe - just a week after the watchdog launched a major investigation into
price-fixing in the building industry.
By contrast, in
price-fixing cases, the great mystery is whether the crime happened at all.
WHISTLE-BLOWERS are being offered pounds 100,000 to reveal
price-fixing scams.
DAIRY group and cheesemaker Lactalis McLelland yesterday became the latest firm to admit its part in the
price-fixing scandal thought to have cost consumers around pounds 270m.
