Unjust jail term for former Qantas boss in cargo price-fixing cartel

QANTAS'S former head of freight in the US, Bruce McCaffrey, has pleaded guilty and agreed to serve an eight-month jail sentence in the US for involvement in the illegal price-fixing of cargo shipments.

After striking a plea bargain with the US Department of Justice on Thursday, McCaffrey is set to become the first airline executive anywhere in the world to be imprisoned for the price-fixing cartel by more than 30 airlines between 2000 to 2006.

More than five months after Qantas admitted its guilt to the Justice Department and paid a $US61 million ($65 million) criminal fine to US authorities, the airline refused to comment on whether five other former and existing freight employees excluded from its plea deal could face the same fate as McCaffrey.

"We can't comment on this case which involves a former staff member because it's before the courts," a Qantas spokesman said.

"Qantas is co-operating fully with the Department of Justice and continues to work with authorities and regulators to resolve all outstanding issues." Qantas's senior management team, including the chief executive, Geoff Dixon, are immune from prosecution in the US. It is understood the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is now following its US counterpart in seeking admissions from airlines, including Qantas, in return for relatively light fines and immunity from further prosecution.

Given that price fixing is not a criminal offence in Australia, unlike the US, four of the former and current Qantas staff based in Australia, including the former head of freight Peter Frampton, will not face extradition.

In a filing to the US District Court in the District of Columbia, signed by Thomas Barnett, the Assistant Attorney-General in charge of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, McCaffrey was charged with engaging in "meetings, conversations and communications in the US and elsewhere to discuss the cargo rates to be charged on certain routes to and from the US".

The law firm leading a $200 million class action against Qantas, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific and British Airways over the alleged fixing of freight rates described McCaffrey's plea deal as "a major development in this case".

"The jailing of the Qantas executive clearly demonstrates the seriousness of the price-fixing conduct by the airlines," said the Maurice Blackburn principal Kim Parker. "We will hope this will send a signal to Qantas it is time to talk to its customers and to make good the widespread damage," Ms Parker said.

LNK

What length jail term would be just? ;)

Those fucking anti-trade statists!

Scum!

Unjust jail term for former Qantas boss in cargo price-fixing cartel

Unjust jail term for former Qantas boss in cargo price-fixing cartel

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