Federal Prosecutors Charge Seven Chinese Executives in Shipping Container Price-Fixing Case

Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that seven Chinese executives and four of the largest shipping container manufacturers have been criminally charged in an antitrust case alleging illegal price fixing during the pandemic six years ago. The indictment marks the latest in a series of Justice Department investigations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

, Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment Co. — also known as Dong Fang Ltd. , Ltd. The charged individuals include Singamas CEO Siong Seng Teo, CIMC CEO Boliang Mai, CIMC Vice President Tianhua Huang, CIMC General Manager Yongbo Wan, Dong Fang General Manager Qianmin Li, CXIC CEO Yuqiang Zhang, and marketing director Vick Nam Hing Ma.

Officials said the manufacturers exploited the crisis and their market power to squeeze the supply chain for profit through coordinated agreements.

“We are holding these Chinese bad actors accountable for exploiting the pandemic to fill their own coffers." — Associate Attorney General, May 19, 2026 The case impacts about $35 billion of global commerce and the day-to-day lives of Americans who struggled to stock up on goods and supplies during the pandemic. Officials said the indictment was secured in 2025 in the Northern District of California but remained under seal until one defendant was apprehended and detained in France in April.”

The Justice Department has been working on a number of criminal investigations related to COVID-19. Last month, federal prosecutors in Maryland brought the first COVID-19 origins case, securing an indictment against a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases employee who is accused of trying to evade Freedom of Information Act requests in connection with COVID-19 research grants.

Officials noted that the Antitrust Division does not have jurisdiction over COVID-19 origin issues.