\n<\/p>\n
US prosecutors said in an unsealed indictment that several of the alleged conspirators had begun discussing the scheme as early as March 2019.<\/p>\n
On or about Nov 14 that year, CIMC, Dong Fang, CXIC and another unnamed co-conspirator had met at CIMC\u2019s headquarters in China to restrict their output of standard dry shipping containers.<\/p>\n
The goal of this was to raise the price of standard dry shipping containers, said the prosecution.<\/p>\n
A week later, an executive of Singamas emailed Mr Teo stating that Dong Fang\u2019s general manager, Mr Li, had called for all six factories to meet.<\/p>\n
On Dec 5 that year, the Singamas executive updated Mr Teo that he had gone for the meeting two days earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stated that the companies discussed limiting the number of shifts and hours that each production line for standard dry containers could run per day, building no additional new production line, installing closed-circuit television (CCTV), and having each factory submit a deposit that would be deducted if anyone broke the agreement.<\/p>\n
He also told Mr Teo that he had reminded the others \u201cnot to be high profile\u201d.<\/p>\n
By February 2020, a draft contract titled Shenzhen Moon Gazing Equity Investment Fund was circulated to the companies. They held a ceremony to sign the final version of the contract the following month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout their conspiracy, the conspirators refined the operation of the output-restriction agreement,\u201d said the US prosecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy September 2020, the conspirators agreed to restrict how many standard dry shipping containers the company conspirators would manufacture for particular customers, whom the conspirators referred to as \u2018mainstream customers\u2019 or \u2018mainstream clients\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
These customers included major US-based container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies, in addition to container lessors, shipping lines, and logistics companies based in Europe, China and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
In or around October 2021, while preparing a presentation for Singamas\u2019 board of directors, one executive sent another executive a draft slide deck for the meeting.<\/p>\n
The draft slides mentioned a \u201cmanufacturing sector official and unofficial association\/alliance\u201d. The receiving executive told the sender: \u201cI am generally fine with your ppt except on page 3, please delete \u2018alliance\u2019 as it is quite sensitive under anti-trust law.\u201d<\/p>\n
In March 2022, a CIMC executive circulated to other alleged co-conspirators a report by a then-US federal maritime commissioner and an excerpt from an interview by the commissioner, in which it allegedly said that Chinese container manufacturers \u201cclearly took steps together to suppress the market prior to the pandemic\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Mai told Mr Huang and Mr Wan to pay close attention, but to neither respond nor discuss.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the same month, a Singamas executive commented on a draft slide deck for Mr Teo\u2019s upcoming presentation to investors about the 2021 annual results.<\/p>\n
The executive suggested to Mr Teo and other executives that, for the topic of \u201cmarket discipline, it is better not to put on the slide due to anti-trust issue\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Teo allegedly replied: \u201cAppreciate, I will make some amendments to the slide (take out come [sic] words) and revert tomorrow am.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US prosecution cited these as steps the conspirators took to conceal the scheme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n