A federal grand jury indicted two former executives at German chemical maker Bayer AG for allegedly taking part in an international price-fixing scheme that drove up the costs of rubber chemicals used to make shoes, tires and other products.

A federal grand jury indicted two former executives at German chemical maker Bayer AG for allegedly taking part in an international price-fixing scheme that drove up the costs of rubber chemicals used to make shoes, tires and other products. Jurgen Ick and Gunter Monn, both German citizens, were charged with conspiring with other industry executives to suppress competition to fix prices for rubber chemicals in the U.S. and elsewhere. The indictments are the latest from a long-running antitrust investigation into an international price-rigging ring formed about ten years ago by some of the world's biggest rubber chemical producers. So far, the probe has resulted in more than $200 million in criminal fines and guilty pleas from six executives and five companies, including Bayer AG, Syndial SpA, Crompton, DuPont Dow Elastomers and Zeon Chemicals.