Aussie court fines MASkargo RM19m for price fixing
KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Australia’s top court today fined Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) air freight business A$6 million (about RM19 million) for price fixing as part of an international cartel, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.
ABC reported that MASkargo had admitted to making deals with other international carriers on surcharges, security surcharges and customs fees to deliver freight from Indonesia between 2001 and 2005
“This penalty sees the total penalties ordered against this international cartel increase to a record A$58 million,” the national public broadcaster quoted Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chief Rod Sims as saying.
“These penalties are the highest generated by a single ACCC investigation.”
In 2010, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and 10 other airlines were fined a total of €799 million (RM3.28 billion) by the European Commission for fixing cargo prices. SIA said it may appeal that decision but paid a fine of €74.8 million.
Australia’s competition watchdog had initiated court proceedings against MASkargo in April 2010, ABC reported.
It noted several other airlines were involved in the case, including SIA, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Air New Zealand, Thai Airways International and Garuda Indonesia.
