Indictments Possible For Adm Officers

Federal prosecutors are considering price-fixing indictments against Archer Daniels Midland Co. and two top executives, the company for the first time confirmed.

A proxy statement sent Thursday to shareholders in advance of the annual meeting acknowledged that prosecutors may indict ADM and executives Michael Andreas and Terrence Wilson for allegedly fixing prices of the livestock feed additive lysine.

The Decatur, Ill.-based grain processor is involved in plea negotiations with the Justice Department, according to sources close to the case and published reports.

A main sticking point, say the sources, who insist on anonymity, is the insistence of prosecutors on guilty pleas to price fixing not only of lysine but of citric acid and high-fructose corn syrup as well.

Guilty pleas or convictions could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for ADM and possible jail time for Wilson and Andreas, the son of ADM chairman Dwyane Andreas.