Kuehne + Nagel Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing

Kuehne + Nagel will pay a $9.9 million penalty after pleading guilty to charges in the United States that the global freight forwarder conspired with its competitors to fix air freight rates.

A U.S. federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Friday approved the plea agreement that makes Switzerland-based Kuehne + Nagel, one of the world’s largest logistics providers, the latest operator penalized in worldwide antitrust investigations that have seen airlines and forwarders pay billions of dollars in fines and several carrier executives go to jail.

Kuehne + Nagel said the guilty plea entered Friday ends the U.S. investigation of the forwarder that began in 2007.

Airlines and forwarders have also faced criminal penalties in Europe, Asia and Australia in an investigation of collusion that authorities say began with attempts to fix war risk surcharges.

Kuehne + Nagel said it had “provided substantial assistance to the U.S. authorities through its early and extensive cooperation with the investigation.”