OREANDA-NEWS. March 27, 2013. This statement was made by Alexander Kinev, the Head of the Anti-Cartel Department of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), at the Legal Forum organized by “The Moscow Times”.

Alexander Kinev discussed in detail the methods of combating cartels, issues of improving the law in this field, inter-branch work as well as the results of FAS efforts on exposing and suppressing agreements and concerted actions.

“Today we are reaching a principally new level of inter-branch work investigating anticompetitive agreements. Cooperating with the law enforcement bodies, we have strengthened our work and adopted special documents formalizing the arrangements reached on the cooperation procedures between the Ministry of Interior and FAS Russia”, Mr. Kinev informed the Forum participants. He also pointed out that work with Courts is an important element of FAS efforts for suppressing cartels. “It is Courts that draw a line under all our disputes”, emphasized Alexander Kinev.

Discussing the practice of investigating cartels and other anticompetitive agreements, Mr. Kinev reminded of the most interesting cartel cases completed in 2012. “At the end of 2011-2012 we investigated several important cases on anticompetitive agreements for fixing prices and dividing market, that we call “hard-core cartels”. The total fines on these cases reached nearly 2.5 billion Rubles. Investigating such cases, we often expose signs of tax and customs violations, and in such incidents the case materials are forwarded to the Tax or Customs Services”, pointed out Alexander Kinev.

Summing up, Alexander Kinev outlined FAS plans on combating cartels, particular, investigating international cartels, including initiating several antimonopoly bodies against foreign companies that violate the antimonopoly law in the Russian Federation.