WASHINGTON, USA: The president of Taiwan's HannStar Display Corp has been indicted for his role in a global scheme to fix prices of display panels used in many consumer devices, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The indictment charges that Ding Hui Joe, also known as David Joe, conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD).

The case, which was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, involves TFT-LCD panels used in computer and notebook screens, mobile phones, televisions and other consumer electronics, the Justice Department said.

Companies buying the screens include some of the largest computer and television manufacturers in the world, names like Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard.

According to the indictment, Joe, a resident of Taiwan, agreed with others to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels during secret meetings, referred to as "Crystal Meetings", in hotel rooms in Taipei.

The indictment alleges that Joe participated in the conspiracy from about Sept. 14, 2001, until about January 31, 2006.

So far in a wide-reaching probe, companies and individuals have paid more than $890 million in criminal fines and, including Thursday's indictment, 22 executives and eight companies have been charged, the Justice Department said.

Companies involved include HannStar Display Corp, AU Optronics Corp; Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd; LG Display Co Ltd; Sharp Corp; Epson Imaging Devices Corp, a unit of Seiko Epson Corp; Hitachi Displays, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp.

In Brussels last month, LG Display, Chi Mei Optoelectronics and three other companies were fined a total of 649 million euros ($858 million) by EU antitrust regulators for fixing prices of display panels used in consumer devices.

Chi Mei, now part of Chi Mei Innolux, Taiwan's largest maker of LCD panels, was hit with the biggest fine, 300 million euros.

The EU Commission's case centered on thin-film liquid crystal display panels used in computers, mobile phones, televisions, digital watches, pocket calculators and MP3 players.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission slapped fines on Sharp Corp and Hitachi Ltd in 2008 for LCD price fixing.