A U.s. judge has AU Optronics was sentenced to pay a fine of 500 million dollars for price-fixing with other lcd manufacturers. Several of the companies met earlier to a settlement.
In addition to the fine of a half a billion dollars was attributed to various defendants who are employed by AU Optronics a prison sentence of three years imposed. L. J. Chen, who at the time of the price fixing ceo was at the schermpanelenfabrikant, would, moreover, have been acquitted. AU Optronics was found guilty of conspiracy for the purpose of fixing prices for lcd panels.
Previously found for several other manufacturers who participated in the price fixing of a settlement with the Us authorities. Among others, Samsung, Hitachi and Sharp have found these settlements for hundreds of millions of dollars, but AU Optronics seems to be with the fine of a half a billion dollar hit harder.
The class action case in 2007 was instituted. According to the lawyers of the group of consumers had the price fixing between the lcd manufacturers to the effect that the prices for televisions, laptops and lcd monitors between 1999 and 2006 at an artificially high level were held.