OREANDA-NEWS.  May 17, 2013. Stats-Secretary, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), Andrey Tsarikovskiy had a meeting with a delegation of Norway’s Competition Authority at the 12th Annual Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) in Warsaw.

The parties discussed the prospects for developing cooperation between the two agencies, particularly, possibilities of joint investigations on cross-border markets.

Andrey Tsarikovskiy once again thanked the Norwegian colleagues for assisting FAS delegation during a visit to Norway in March 2013, when the two agencies discussed the issues related to supplies of Norwegian salmon and trout to Russia under the framework of an antimonopoly investigation being carried out by FAS.

On 23rd October 2012, FAS initiated a case against “Russian Fish Company” CJSC, “Atlant –Pacific” CJSC, a group of person comprising “ITA North Company” CJSC and “SK Retail” CJSC upon signs of violating the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”– a market-dividing cartel.

The case was initiated upon the finding of inspections of economic entities involved in supplying Norwegian salmon and trout in Russia, carried out by FAS in March – June 2012.

In the course of the investigations, FAS established that to implement the alleged anticompetitive agreement “Russian Fish Company” CJSC, “Atlant –Pacific” CJSC and the “North Company” allocated Norwegian fish producers between them and then initiated “Strategic Partnership Agreements” with them.

According to the agreements, Norwegian producers lost for five years the right to supply fish to any entity in the Russian Federation except Russian Fish Company” CJSC, “Atlant –Pacific” CJSC or and the “North Company”.