A former Martinair executive has been extradited to the United States of America from Italy after nearly a decade on the run, according to the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
Maria Ulings, the former senior vice president of cargo sales and marketing for Martinair Cargo, was apprehended by Italian authorities in June last year, while visiting the island of Sicily, on charges of violating the Sherman Act following her participation in a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices of air cargo.
The charges stem from her alleged participation in an air cargo price-fixing scandal that dates back to January 2001, lasting until at least February 2006.
She was indicted by the US District Court of Georgia on 21 September 2010 on conspiracy charges, before going on the run for nine years. According to the indictment, Ullings conspired with others to eliminate competition by fixing certain surcharges, including fuel surcharges on cargo shipments.
Ulings returned to the US in January following the Italian court’s decision to uphold the extradition order. She arrived in Atlanta on January 10, before returning to the court which indicted her the first time nearly ten years ago.
Makan Delrahim, assistant attorney general of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, insists that the department will aggressively hunt down any price fixers, irrespective of where they try to escape.
“This extradition ruling by the Italian courts – the seventh country to extradite a defendant in an Antitrust Division case in recent years, and the second to do so based solely on an antitrust charge – demonstrates that those who violate US antitrust laws and seek to evade justice will find no place to hide,” said Delrahim.
Ulings could face up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. – Bjorn Vorster
