Singapore shipping magnate accused of price fixing takes leave of absence from government-led taskforce

A Singapore shipping executive ​the U.S. has ​accused of conspiring to ‌restrict ​the supply of shipping containers during the COVID pandemic took a leave of ‌absence from roles including Singapore's government-led economic resilience taskforce, the trade ministry said on Friday.

A Singapore shipping executive ​the U.S. has ​accused of conspiring to ‌restrict ​the supply of shipping containers during the COVID pandemic took a leave of ‌absence from roles including Singapore's government-led economic resilience taskforce, the trade ministry said on Friday. Teo Siong Seng, chief executive and chairman ‌of Hong Kong company Singamas Container Holdings, is also ‌taking a leave of absence from two other roles. Teo is chair of the Singapore Business Federation and board member of government agency Enterprise ⁠Singapore.

Teo ​has not ⁠made any public comments about the allegations and Singamas did not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment. Singapore's trade ministry said Teo's leave ​was to "focus his attention on addressing the indictment by ⁠the US Department of Justice," adding that it was unable to comment ⁠further ​given the ongoing legal process.

Teo is one of seven executives facing Department of Justice charges of conspiring ⁠to restrict output and fix prices between November 2019 and January ⁠2024. Prosecutors allege ⁠the scheme resulted in U.S. consumers paying more, and waiting longer, for goods during the ‌pandemic.