HannStar Display president charged with LCD conspiracy

HannStar Display president Ding Hui Joe has been indicted as part of anti-trust investigations into LCD price fixing. According to the charges, the exec took part in clandestine meetings and illegal sales info swapping for four years, up until January 2006, as part of an attempt by LCD industry players to maintain pricing and avoid supplier undercutting.

Apple, Dell and HP have all been impacted by the conspiracy, which kept artificially high the prices on laptop, desktop and mobile device displays. Ding Hui Joe faces fines of up to $1m and a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years if he is convicted; he is the 22nd executive charged. HannStar has separately agreed to pay $30m in fines for its part in the affair.