BREAKING: Department Of Justice Unseals Antitrust Case About China And Covid-19

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:02]Good afternoon.

[00:00:04]For those wondering, 2 years, 245 days.

[00:00:08]Today, the Department of Justice is unsealing an indictment charging seven Chinese executives and four of the largest shipping container manufacturers with conspiring to fix prices in violation of antitrust laws.

[00:00:20]Collectively, the Chinese conspirators manufacture about 95% of the world's standard dry shipping containers. These charges arise from a conspiracy to restrict the output and fix prices of shipping containers at the start of the CO 19 pandemic. Shipping containers are key to transporting billions of dollars of goods to Americans every year. Around the start of the global pandemic, these manufacturers exploited the crisis and their market power to squeeze the supply chain for profit through coordinated agreements, including the use of video cameras to monitor production lines and prices. This Chinese cartel dramatically raised the prices of shipping containers between 2019 and 2021.

[00:01:08]These companies were rewarded handsomely. Their profits increased nearly 100fold, receiving over 11 billion Juan at the expense of American businesses seeking to transport goods from China.

[00:01:21]The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting criminals who harm Americans domestically and abroad. We are holding these Chinese bad actors accountable for exploiting the pandemic to fill their own coffers. and this justice department will continue to vigorously enforce criminal antitrust violations.

[00:01:41]I will now turn the podium to acting assistant attorney general of the antitrust division.

[00:01:52]Thank you Stanley and for your support on this matter. Uh good afternoon and thank you for joining us at the department today. I want to thank our law enforcement partners who are joining me on stage today, including the FBI's Joe Perez, GSA's Jason Suedini, and USPS's Veressa Medina.

[00:02:10]Associate Attorney General Woodward just described, the department today unsealed an indictment charging seven Chinese executives and four of the world's largest shipping container manufacturers in the world. As outlined in the indictment, all of the defendants have been charged with one count of violating section one of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

[00:02:30]And one defendant, Executive Vic Ma, was arrested earlier this year in France, where he is currently pending extradition to the United States.

[00:02:40]This historic indictment makes clear the Justice Department's commitment to prosecuting antitrust crimes wherever they may occur.

[00:02:48]Simply put, if you fix prices, rig bids, or allocate markets, the antitrust division will track you down, will prosecute you, and put you behind bars.

[00:02:59]The charges we announced today underscore that basic truth.

[00:03:04]This case is about $ 35 billion of global commerce that affected everyday Americans on a human level.

[00:03:13]It is about the necessary goods and supplies we rely on every day to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.

[00:03:21]This case affected every American store shelf and every American home.

[00:03:26]It's about how at the height of the COVID pandemic, the defendants lined their own pockets by choking the world's supply of shipping containers, all at the expense of the American people who suffered good shortages and surging prices.

[00:03:43]As charge of the indictment, the conspirators are the largest manufacturers of the world's shipping containers.

[00:03:49]These containers are the steel trucksized boxes that carry most of the world's goods across the seas. If you've bought medical supplies, auto parts, or electronics in the past 60 years or so, a shipping container made it possible.

[00:04:05]Yet today, if you want a shipping container made, you must buy it from essentially one of six Chinese companies.

[00:04:12]Together, these companies comprise 95% of the most common and standard container, an unrefrigerated steel box with standard dimensions.

[00:04:23]Before the charge conspiracy, the six manufacturers competed against one another. The result, shipping containers and the goods they carried to our country were cheap and plentiful.

[00:04:36]But that wasn't enough for these companies and their executives.

[00:04:40]So in November of 2019, on the brink of the CO 19 pandemic, the six manufacturers entered into a conspiracy to restrict how many standard containers they would all make.

[00:04:53]This allowed the companies to create an artificial shortage which enabled them to raise container prices and make more money at your expense.

[00:05:02]Put simply, they created an antitrust cartel controlling 95% of all container manufacturing in the world. With their global market power, the conspiring manufacturers and their executives choked the supply of the containers precisely at the time the world was depending on it most. To take just one example from the indictment, the manufacturers set up video surveillance cameras in each other's factories to make sure that nobody cheated by making more containers than they had all agreed to.

[00:05:33]And the manufacturers policed the agreement, making sure that if any of them made more containers than they had agreed upon, the manufacturer would agree to pay a penalty for violating the quota.

[00:05:44]To quote the manufacturers themselves, they would wage a war against small independent factories who dared to undercut the cartel's artificially high prices.

[00:05:55]And the executives knew what they were doing was wrong. They wrote each other emails like, quote, "I feel very uneasy reading your report. Maybe we should delete this string of emails after reading."

[00:06:08]They warned each other to be secretive because they risk quote violating the monopoly law or being accused of price manipulation by our customers.

[00:06:18]Now remember this was in 2019 when the COVID pandemic started in 2020. Delays beset shipping worldwide.

[00:06:26]With many places in lockdown, Americans stopped spending on restaurants, gyms, and vacations and hunkered down to buy the essential items of pandemic living.

[00:06:37]like medical supplies, toiletries, home office supplies, and more.

[00:06:42]We endured shortages and experienced real pain. Many of us couldn't get the things we needed. It was not that long ago when our store shelves were empty, our back orders multiplied, and the price of our common goods surged.

[00:06:58]As a nation, we collectively endured through that difficult time together.

[00:07:04]Meanwhile, the defendants and their co-conspirators reap the benefits of our misery. They made it harder and more expensive to get the goods that Americans relied on. Indeed, the defendants's conspiracy triggered a global shortage of shipping containers.

[00:07:19]And for example, from 2019 to 2021, the price of a standard container more than doubled. And while Americans suffered, the defendants profited. The profits of one publicly traded corporate defendant jumped from a loss of $110 million in 2019 to a gain of 180 million in 2021.

[00:07:41]The profits of another defendant jumped nearly 100fold from about $20 million in 2019 to about $1.75 billion in 2021.

[00:07:53]For this crime, the Justice Department has charged seven container manufacturing executives in their company with felony violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This case is a milestone in international cartel enforcement with a value of commerce exceeding, by some early estimates, $ 35 billion.

[00:08:11]In October of 2025, the talented team behind me secured a grand jury indictment against all seven defendants and four companies.

[00:08:20]The indictment sat under seal as we waited for justice. And sure enough, justice was secured on April 14th, 2026.

[00:08:29]On that night, the defendant Vic Ma, a global trotting Chinese executive, attempted to fly from Charles de Gaulle airport to Hong Kong, where he was intercepted by a group of law enforcement officials as part of Operation Midnight in Paris.

[00:08:44]Thanks to the exceptional skill and dedication of the French National Police and many other law enforcement partners, including the FBI, the Postal IG, GSAIG, and Homeland Security Investigations, to name just a few, the defendant never boarded that flight. The long arm of American justice instead reached him. to our French partners overseas, Merci Infinimal.

[00:09:09]This arrest marks a breakthrough in our fight to hold accountable companies and executives who, as alleged in the indictment, secretly conspired to squeeze the global supply chain, hurting everyday Americans in the process. It also provides some level of accountability for a time that unnecessarily hurt the lives of everyday Americans.

[00:09:30]In some the United States will hold accountable anyone who exploits Americans to enrich themselves. We will find you no matter where you are in the world. Even if you are boarding a flight at midnight in Paris, our nation's economic security and our shared prosperity demand no less. Before I turn it over to FBI operating director Joe Perez, I want to thank my talented and dedicated staff and our law enforcement partners from the FBI, the GSA, Postal OIG, Homeland Security, and our colleagues in the Northern District, California US Attorney's Office, who dropped everything with the clock running to ensure the defendant was apprehended and justice was secured.

[00:10:09]Thank you and God bless America.

[00:10:15]>> Thank you everyone. Good afternoon.

[00:10:16]Thank you, Associate Attorney General Woodward and Acting Assistant Attorney General Sephi. Uh, good afternoon everybody. My my name is Joe Perez. I'm the operations director for the FBI's criminal and cyber branch. Appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today.

[00:10:28]Thank you as well to the uh the tremendous case team out here comprised of individuals from various agencies we've talked about, including representation from the FBI San Francisco office that uh that helped charge this case through. So, I want to reiterate uh what my colleagues and uh partners have highlighted here and emphasize the hard work our agencies conducted that led to this indictment.

[00:10:47]Ultimately, the alleged collusion, price fixing, and supply manipulation of these Chinese companies and some of their executives created artificially inflated prices that were passed down to American businesses and the American consumer.

[00:11:00]They suffered as a result of the scheme throughout the COVID pandemic and subsequent global supply chain crisis.

[00:11:06]The FBI strives to make meaningful impact in our communities. And we believe these enforcement operations drive the fight directly to those who target our well-being and the critical infrastructure of Americans that that Americans rely on globally. The decision by the indicted companies to act upon their market share ripples out and affects not just large companies but also negatively impacts small mom and pop businesses across the United States every day. The rule of law was upheld today. The hard work of the men and women of the FBI and the Department of Justice cannot be overstated in this case. Their efforts reinforce the importance of keeping a fair and level playing field in the business community.

[00:11:46]The FBI will aggressively pursue companies and governments that unfairly fix artificially high prices and choke supply that hurts Americans. This investigation highlights the reach of the FBI's mission and the depth of our capabilities and the value of strong partnerships in advancing accountability and public trust. Of course, none of this work would be possible without the collaboration of our law enforcement counterparts as displayed here today and our counterparts across the globe. This was especially highlighted as was mentioned in this case through the arrest of one of the key players uh Mr. Vic Ma. The FBI in this case leveraged our international partnerships through our global law enforcement attaches to pass timely and critical information to the French authorities to affect the arrest of Ma and hold him accountable.

[00:12:30]He is currently pending extradition to the United States. Collaboration is a critical component to our success both domestically and internationally. These partnerships are also vital in allowing the FBI to deliver on its commitment to defend the homeland and above all keep our communities safe. Thank you again for your time and I'll turn it back over to Associate Attorney General Woodward.

[00:12:50]Thank you, sir.

[00:12:52]>> We'll take a few questions.

[00:12:55]>> Alana, >> um I know you said one defendant was arrested in France earlier this year. I just wanted to clarify the status of the other six defendants. They have not been arrested.

[00:13:04]>> Several are corporations.

[00:13:07]>> Yes. We we were just announcing the arrest of one individual.

[00:13:09]>> Okay.

[00:13:10]>> Yeah. Several of the defendants are corporations and that you'll see that in the in the indictment.

[00:13:14]>> Got it.

[00:13:16]>> Any other questions?

[00:13:17]>> I understand that the there's been a number of like investigations that have been kind of focused on the origins of the CO 19 pandemic. Is this part of that or is this something that started before that? I know you said the indictment was obtained under seal last year, but do you see this as as part of that or is this something that's separate from those efforts like what we saw in Maryland recently with an indictment involving a former a former uh HHS official?

[00:13:43]>> Sure. I mean, what you have here before you is the antitrust team. Um, so I I would uh hazard to say that they don't have jurisdiction to investigate the origins of the CO uh 19 pandemic. Um instead you have a team that is dedicated uh each and every day uh to investigate among other things fraud which takes the form of of uh collusion and price fixing. Um and so what you see in this department of justice is a uh effort across the board whether it's antitrust, civil, criminal um or through uh a McDonald's group to focus on fraud.

[00:14:17]Um this indictment is a reflection of our um strong determination to um fight back whenever Americans pocketbooks are hurt. Um none of us none of us can buy any goods without the use of shipping containers. I mean that's just a reality. Um and so this indictment reflects uh the seriousness with which we take our obligation to protect Americans everywhere. Can >> I ask you also an off-topic question?

[00:14:44]And I just with regard to the the weaponization fund that's being created, can you speak a little bit about the governance structure? I understand there's going to be commissioners appointed. I mean, are these people going to be somebody that people that are from inside the government? Do you want people from outside the government?

[00:14:59]And you know, in terms of selecting them, are people who had represented Mr. Trump in his personal, you know, in his personal capacity as lawyers, are they going to be recused from having any say over the selection process? I think that was technically sixish questions. Um, look, I'll answer one question about the anti-weaponization um, uh, settlement fund. Uh, because not not that it's not important and not that we're not happy to talk about it, but because these folks back here have worked tirelessly day and night to secure this indictment and have nothing to do with the anti-weaponization fund.

[00:15:36]And they deserve, you know, they they've been looking forward to this press conference. Look, the department doesn't exist without the men and women who are investigating crimes, investigating violations of the antitrust laws, uh, who are working to to make sure that we are protecting Americans in their pocketbooks, in their homes, in their communities. Um, and we just don't have the opportunity enough to say thank you.

[00:15:59]And so to you all now today, I say thank you. Um, none of this would have been possible without you. to answer your question. Um, you know, to not you, but to all the panicans out there, um, look, as the associate attorney general, I already have the authority to settle any claim that is brought against the United States of America, any claim. So, what the acting attorney general has done with this um, uh, anti-weaponization fund is he has added accountability, right? Instead of just just one person, there are now going to be five who are going to review each and every one of these claims. I frankly think that we should be ecstatic about the idea that we're going to in inject more accountability into the process as opposed to having just one person sign off on on settlements, you know, and the idea that the president can remove somebody from the committee. Well, guess what? He can remove me, too. Um, and so I think that it's way way way too early uh for us to rush to judgment on whether this was a good or a bad idea to describe it as a slush fund uh or really even to criticize it. You know why?

[00:17:08]Because there's not been a single claim filed. There's not been a single payment made. Um so come see us after we've made one of these so-called corrupt payments.

[00:17:17]Come see us after this fund exists as a so-called slush fund. what we're trying to what we're trying to do is uh uh correct for the weaponization that was pervasive in the last administration. Um and I appreciate everyone's patience as we work through that. And you know, as I said at the top, we've got two years, 245 days, which is not nearly enough time. Uh but we're working as quickly as we can. And and I hope you'll agree that we're seeing swift results.

[00:17:46]>> You were the you were the sole DOJ signature on this filing yesterday, Stan. And so I think the people are wondering given your past representation of one of President Trump's codefendants in the classified documents case, your past representation of January 6 defendants, some of whom included uh people charged with violent offenses. Uh does that amount to a conflict of interest on your part being the person that signed it? And also should DOJ just rule out uh payments to people who are convicted of attacking police?

[00:18:14]>> I I I will go against my word. I will answer the second question and then if we don't have questions about um about this indictment then look first of all I would not be signing off on any settlements involving any former clients. Second of all every department of justice official every department of justice official relies on the ethics advice of the chief ethics officer for the department of justice and so the idea that anybody is doing anything unethical is just it's just false. Um, and you know, to to the extent that because I was uh a defense attorney who represented a codefendant in a case that involves the uh then former president and candidate for presidential office, I can have nothing to do uh with the affairs of the United States of America.

[00:18:58]I mean, come on. Questions about the indictment?

[00:19:02]>> I had one on the indictment. I'm sorry.

[00:19:03]Just on and the criminal penalties regarding the Sherman Act. I'm just wondering for this uh defendant Jack Ma who's in custody. What does that really look like? I mean, is this person is is going to be in prison here? After that, would he be denaturalized and sent back?

[00:19:16]How would that I just wonder how that would work?

[00:19:21]>> I think right now the best way to put it is that we're waiting for him to be extradited to the United States and he'll have a a obviously a very objective and fair legal process in the United States and that just has to play out. There's obviously an enormous amount of money that's at stake in the volume of commerce here. Um, but it's a little bit too early to sort of get into that and I don't want to prejudge anything um this early in the process if that makes sense.

[00:19:44]>> Can I ask a followup about this investigation? You mentioned that there were emails among the participants. Uh, seems like you guys had pretty good insight into their communications. Did section 702 play any role in this investigation and helping you advance the ball?

[00:20:00]>> I don't I don't want to get into any specific investigative methods. But I think the indictment speaks for itself and the quality of evidence that we secured in this case. Great. Thanks everybody.