Federal judge bars CEO from leaving US in LCD investigation

San Francisco: The CEO of the world's fourth-largest maker of liquid crystal displays has been barred by a federal judge from leaving the United States as Justice Department officials pursue price-fixing allegations against the company.

A grand jury indicted Lai-Juh Chen, chief executive officer of Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp, in June for fixing prices of thin-film LCD panels, which go into everything from TVs to smartphones. The court ordered him to surrender his passport this week.

The US Justice Department has accused AU Optronics executives of participating in a group of industry officials who met regularly in Taipei hotel rooms and restaurants to discuss and agree on prices, from 2001 to 2006.

Six companies had pleaded guilty in the subsequent probe, including Taiwan's Chi Mei and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd, South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd, and Japan's Sharp Corp, Epson Imaging Devices, and Hitachi Displays.

Not guilty

After Chen pleaded not guilty in San Francisco last month, his lawyers argued that as the case proceeds, he should be allowed to travel between the United States and Asia to attend important meetings.

"One such meeting is scheduled in September with top officials of customer LG Electronics in Korea," his lawyers wrote. "If Dr Chen was unable to personally attend these meetings as CEO, it would be more difficult for AU to conclude agreement with customers or, potentially, it could risk losing substantial business to competitors."

They said in a court filing Chen could be replaced if he were unable to fulfill his key job functions.

But US District Judge Susan Illston ordered Chen and AU's vice chairman, Hsuan Bin Chen, to surrender their passports this week, court records indicate.

"Defendants shall not travel outside the Northern District of California" without the court's permission, Illston wrote.

The district stretches from San Jose in California north to the Oregon border, and includes San Francisco.