EX-MARTINAIR vice president Maria Christina 'Meta' Ulling, 65, has appeared in federal court in Atlanta following her extradition from Italy on charges of price fixing between 2001 and 2006
EX-MARTINAIR vice president Maria Christina 'Meta' Ulling, 65, has appeared in federal court in Atlanta following her extradition from Italy on charges of price fixing between 2001 and 2006. Italian police arrested her in July while she was visiting Sicily. Interpol issued a red notice for Ullings in 2011 based on a US arrest warrant.
At Martinair Cargo, which became part of Air France-KLM in 2008, Ullings was based in Amsterdam. She was responsible for setting prices and fuel surcharges for cargo handled for US and other customers.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said she coordinated the prices and surcharges with other cargo carriers through a conspiracy that started in 2001 and continued for at least five years.
The US price-fixing prosecution caused years of turmoil in the global cargo industry. The DOJ charged 22 airlines and 21 executives in the case. Seven executives have been sentenced to prison and defendants have paid US$1.8 billion in criminal fines.
Among the cargo carriers that entered into plea agreements with the DOJ in the price-fixing case were Martinair, ANA, Singapore Airlines, EL AL, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, British Airways, Air Canada, Korean Air Lines, Lufthansa, EVA Airways, Cathay Pacific, Asiana, Northwest (now part of Delta) and SAS Cargo.
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