Archer Daniels Midland Reaches Plea Agreement

DECATUR, Illinois: Archer Daniels Midland agreed to plead guilty Monday to two criminal price-fixing charges and will pay $100 million in fines. The agribusiness giant had been the target of a four-year long federal investigation into price-fixing in the sale of lysine, a feed supplement for livestock, and citric acid, which is used in soft drinks and detergents. In exchange for the plea agreement, ADM gains immunity against charges of alleged collusion in the sale of high-fructose corn syrup, according to reports the Wall Street Journal. The corn-syrup case was thought to be the most significant of the antitrust inquiries because it is a $3 billion market and accounts for about 30 percent of ADM's profits. ADM will also gain immunity in another inquiry: the possible theft of technology and trade secrets by ADM from other companies. In July, published reports confirmed that prosecutors had told vice president Michael Andreas (son of ADM Chairman Dwayne Andreas) and Terrance Wilson, head of the company's grain milling division, that they would face criminal indictments in the lysine case. No indictments have yet been handed down. Coming just two days before the second and final Presidential debates is scheduled to begin in San Diego, the news was particularly unwelcome for Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, a longtime friend of Dwayne Andreas. Since 1979, Dole has received more than $475,000 from Andreas, his company and members of his family. In exchange, Dole is believed to have helped pass tax subsidies for ethanol, a corn-based fuel, and to have championed the sugar-price support program that benefited ADM' s high-fructose corn syrup market. the Dow's best performance ever. Lamia Abu-Haidar