Chilean shipping firm Compania Sudamericana de Vapores has agreed to plead guilty to a price-fixing conspiracy and pay a US$8.9 million criminal fine to the US government, the US Justice Department said.
The Justice Department's anti-trust prosecutors said in a statement that the company had conspired to rig bids to push up prices of shipping cargo such as cars and trucks to and from the United States, reported Reuters.
“Today's charges are the first to be filed in the anti-trust division's investigation into bid rigging and price fixing of ocean shipping services," said Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's anti-trust division.
Vapores, majority-owned by the billionaire Luksic family, Chile's richest, has been seeking to battle steep losses caused by low freight rates, high fuel prices and expensive leases.
It recently announced a business tie-up with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd that would create the world's fourth largest container-shipping company.
In a statement to the Chilean regulator, the company said the board had instructed the administration provide "maximum collaboration" in the investigation. Vapores added that the fine won't affect its results.
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