AU Optronics Corporation, a Taiwan-based liquid crystal display (LCD) producer, has been sentenced to pay a whopping $500 million criminal fine for its participation in a five-year conspiracy to fix the prices of thin-film transistor LCD panels sold worldwide, the Department of Justice announced.
The massive fine, imposed against the company in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, matches the largest fine ever imposed against a company for violating U.S. antitrust laws. Along with the fine, AU Optronics Corporation was also sentenced to print advertisements in three major trade publications in the United States and Taiwan acknowledging its convictions and punishments.
The company’s American subsidiary, AU Optronics Corporation America, and two former top executives, Hsuan Bin Chen and Hui Hsiung, were also sentenced in connection with the conspiracy. Chen was sentenced to serve three years in prison and pay a $200,000 criminal fine, while Hsiung received the same sentence and fine.
The price-fixing conspiracy, which took place from September 2001 to December 2006, affected every family, school, business, charity, and government agency that purchased notebook computers, computer monitors, and LCD televisions during that time. The conspiracy resulted in higher prices for these products, with the worldwide market for LCD panels valued at $70 billion annually by the end of the conspiracy.
According to the Department of Justice, the companies and former executives fixed prices during monthly meetings held in hotel conference rooms, karaoke bars, and tea rooms around Taiwan. The jury found that the companies and executives fixed prices of LCD panels sold into the United States, and the indictment charged that AU Optronics Corporation participated in the worldwide price-fixing conspiracy from September 2001 to December 2006.
“This long-running price-fixing conspiracy resulted in every family, school, business, charity, and government agency who bought notebook computers, computer monitors, and LCD televisions during the conspiracy to pay more for these products,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The Antitrust Division will continue to pursue vigorously international cartels that target American consumers and rob them of their hard-earned money.”
The companies and former executives were found guilty on March 13, 2012, following an eight-week trial. The FBI’s San Francisco Field Office and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division were commended for their fine work on the investigation, which involved numerous hours of dedication and commitment to the mission.
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