SINGAPORE: Transport govt Teo Siong Seng is amongst seven executives of delivery container manufacturing firms which were accused by america of conspiring to limit the output and repair the costs of dry containers.
The worth-fixing of practically all of the world’s normal dry – or unrefrigerated – containers went on for over 4 years, spanning as early as November 2019 to a minimum of January 2024, the US Justice Division mentioned in a press launch on Tuesday (Could 19).
“The multi-year conspiracy roughly doubled the costs of normal delivery containers between 2019 and 2021, growing the container producers’ income roughly one hundredfold through the COVID-19 pandemic and international provide chain disaster,” it mentioned.
Mr Teo is employed by Singamas Container Holdings as its CEO and chairman, a publicly traded firm in Hong Kong. Singamas is a listed subsidiary of Pacific Worldwide Strains, of which Mr Teo is govt chairman.
Mr Teo can be the chairman of the Singapore Enterprise Federation (SBF). As SBF chairman, he’s a part of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce.
He’s one in every of six govt co-defendants linked to Singamas’ advertising and marketing director Vick Nam Hing Ma, who was arrested in France on Apr 14. His extradition to the US is pending.
Following Ma’s arrest, the executives and the businesses they labored at had been charged for conspiring to limit the output of – and repair the worth of – practically all of the world’s dry containers.
“The intermodal containers … carry billions of {dollars} of products throughout the oceans to American households every year,” mentioned the Justice Division.
Mr Teo, together with 5 different co-defendants, is at present at giant, in line with the Justice Division.
SINGAMAS ENGAGES LEGAL ADVISERS
In a submitting on the Hong Kong trade on Wednesday, Singamas mentioned neither the corporate nor Mr Teo had been served with “any authorized course of or different authorized documentation” by the US Justice Division.
It added that it has engaged exterior authorized advisers. Within the meantime, all enterprise operations and day-to-day actions will stay regular.
Singamas additionally requested a one-day buying and selling halt from Wednesday afternoon to 9am on Thursday.
CIMC mentioned on Wednesday that it “attaches nice significance to the matter and can intently monitor and reply proactively”.
The corporate mentioned that it had not but been served any authorized documentation by the US Justice Division.
