OREANDA-NEWS. March 16, 2009. The Saratov Regional Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (OFAS Russia) imposed administrative fines for the total amount over 6 million Rubles upon the following insurance organizations: "Energogarant" Insurance Share-Holding Company" OJSC - 139 900 Rubles; "Oranta" Insurance Company Ltd. - 216 802 Rubles; "Rosgosstrakh-Povolzye" Ltd. - 3 902 130 Rubles; "Spasskie Vorota" Insurance Group" CJSC - 98 722 Rubles; СЗАО "Standard-Reserve" Closed Joint-Stock Insurance Company - 172 413 Rubles; "Soglasie" Insurance Company Ltd. - 412 150 Rubles; "ROSNO" Russian People's Insurance Association" OJSC - 1 311 469 Rubles; "Yugoria" State Insurance Company" OJSC - 8 293 Rubles; "Renaissance Insurance Group" Insurance Company Ltd. - 74 768 Rubles, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Earlier the Saratov OFAS Russia found that "Promsvyazbank" OJSC and 112 insurance companies violated Clause 4 and Clause 5 Part 1 Article 11 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" (anticompetitive agreements).

The cases were initiated upon notifications about the agreements between the bank and financial organization submitted to the Saratov OFAS Russia for the purposes of verifying compliance with the antimonopoly legislation.

Additional agreements between "Promsvyazbank" OJSC and the insurance companies had a special clause about arrangements that resulted (could have resulted) in imposing unfavorable insurance conditions upon a borrower, as well as economically and technologically unjustified refusal to conclude agreements with other insurance organizations and borrowers.

Recognized violations of Article 11 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" constitute the grounds for imposing administrative charges upon insurance companies under Article 14.32 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Violations: entering in a competition-restricting agreement is punishable by an administrative fine upon legal entities - from one hundredth to fifteen hundredth of the proceeds gained by the violator from selling goods on the market where the violation was committed.

The Saratov OFAS Russia relieved "Zurich. Retail" Insurance Company Ltd. and "City Insurance Company" Ltd. from administrative liability because the companies had admitted antimonopoly violations and voluntarily repotted on terminating the concluded agreements.