Free Status Report - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:03-cv-00409-DJS

Document 84-4

Filed 12/07/2007

Page 1 of 2

November 30, 2007 4:23 p.m. EST

UPDATE: Judge Dismisses Stolt-Nielsen Antitrust Indictment
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November 30, 2007 4:23 p.m.

By Corey Boles Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A District Court judge dismissed a criminal antitrust indictment brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against shipping company Stolt-Nielsen S.A. (SNI.OS). The indictment stems from a cartel that involved three shipping companies - Stolt-Nielsen, Odfjell Seachem AS of Norway and Jo Tankers B.V., a Dutch company. In November 2002, executives from Stolt-Nielsen approached federal antitrust authorities under the DOJ's corporate leniency program. The company was granted amnesty for any antitrust activities it may have been engaged in prior to January 2003. Stolt-Nielsen's cooperation led to fines totaling $62.5 million being levied against the two other co-conspirators, and executives from both companies being jailed. Lawyers from the DOJ subsequently approached Stolt-Nielsen, stating that based on evidence from one of the others accused, it was revoking the amnesty agreement and seeking a criminal indictment against the company. Judge Bruce W. Kauffman, of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, upheld a motion by Stolt-Nielsen to dismiss the indictment on Thursday. "The Division has failed to produce any credible evidence that Stolt-Nielsen's participation in the customer allocation conspiracy continued past March 2002," said Judge Kauffman in his decision. The judge went on to say that it would "defy logic" for executives at the company to have continued a criminal conspiracy after it had been revealed publicly. In a statement released by Luxembourg-based Stolt-Nielsen, Chief Executive Niels G. StoltNielsen said, "We are pleased that justice has been served." "We are disappointed. We are reviewing the opinion and considering our options," said a DOJ spokeswoman in a statement.

Case 3:03-cv-00409-DJS

Document 84-4

Filed 12/07/2007

Page 2 of 2

-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637; [email protected]

URL for this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT_CO_20071130_713679.html

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