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A Singaporean tycoon, whom the United States has accused of conspiring to restrict the supply of shipping containers during the Covid-19 pandemic, has requested a leave of absence from his duties, including his position on the government-led economic resilience task force, as reported by the island nation's Ministry of Trade.
Teo Siong Seng, CEO and Chairman of Hong Kong-based Singamas Container Holdings, will also take leave from two other positions. Teo is Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation and a board member of the government agency Enterprise Singapore.
Teo has not made public comments on the accusations, and Singamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Singapore's Ministry of Trade stated that Teo's leave is intended to "focus his attention on responding to the accusation from the U.S. Department of Justice," adding that it could not comment further as the legal process is ongoing.
Teo is one of seven executives facing charges from the Department of Justice for conspiring to restrict production and fix prices between November 2019 and January 2024.
Prosecutors allege that the strategy caused American consumers to pay more and wait longer for goods during the pandemic.
It is worth noting that the United States accused four of the world's largest Chinese shipping container manufacturing companies of conspiring to restrict supply and fix prices for almost all standard dry cargo containers.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), this illegal practice spanned over four years, between November 2019 and at least January 2024, which would constitute a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
"This multi-year conspiracy approximately doubled the prices of standard shipping containers between 2019 and 2021, multiplying container manufacturers' profits by a hundredfold during the Covid-19 pandemic and the global supply chain crisis. One of the executives, Vick Nam Hing Ma, was arrested, and his extradition to the United States is pending. Six co-accused executives remain at large," the DOJ reported.
The DOJ points to China International Marine Containers (CIMC), Singamas Container Holdings, Dong Fang International Containers, and CXIC Group Containers as the main culprits. According to the court document, those involved maintained an illegal agreement with the direct objective of raising the prices of standard dry cargo containers worldwide, a plan whose initial deliberations began in March 2019.
Source: portalportuario
