A former executive of Japan Airlines International and two former executives of Nippon Cargo Airlines were indicted on Tuesday for allegedly participating in a global air cargo price-fixing conspiracy, the Justice Department said.

An Atlanta grand jury handed up indictments for Takao Fukuchi, former president of JAL Cargo Sales, and Yoshio Kunugi and Naoshige Makino, who used to work for Nippon Cargo Airlines, the department said in a press statement.

The three former executives are not in custody and are believed to be in Japan.

With this indictment, the Justice Department has charged 19 airlines and 17 executives with price fixing in the air transportation industry. Four executives have been sentenced to prison, and more than $1.7 billion in criminal fines have been imposed.

The European Commission in Brussels has a related investigation, which imposed another $1.1 billion in fines on 11 airlines on Nov. 9 for the same conspiracy.

Major airlines caught up in the probe include British Airways , Korean Air Lines , Qantas Airways , Cathay Pacific Airways , Air France and EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd . (Reuters)