Competition authorities from all over the world discussed cooperation in cartel investigation
On 27 April 2016, the programme of the Annual Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) in Singapore included a session of the Cartel Working Group that focused on strengthening cooperation between competition authorities. FAS experience in this field was presented by a member of the Non-Profit Partnership for Competition Support, Deputy Head of the Competition Law Department at Moscow State Law University, Denis Gavrilov.
He pointed out that FAS has accumulated significant experience of cooperation with foreign competition authorities in cartel investigations. Within the Eurasian Economic Union, to which Russia is a member, there are two levels of cooperation: directly between the competition authorities of the EAEU member-states, and between the competition authorities through the Eurasian Economic Commission. The competition authorities and EEC have possibilities to exchange confidential information, carry out joint investigations, which are an especially important and efficient tool to suppress cartels, including cross-border cartels.
FAS cooperation with competition authorities of the CIS member-states takes place under the frame of the Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy. To carry out joint investigations, ICAP members formed the same-name Headquarters, which analyses markets in the CIS countries, devise recommendations on improving the state of competition in such markets, and if violations are exposed, undertakes coordinated efforts to investigate the violations.
A striking example of such coordination is a roaming case investigated by FAS and Kazakhstan competition authority. Based on the case outcome, FAS found that three largest telecommunications companies abused their market dominance, and the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Competition Protection arrived to the same conclusions with regard to Kazakh companies. As a consequence of the investigation, mobile operators agreed to reduce the inter-operator rates between each other and with other operators. In the past three years the rates for voice calls went down by 9 times, SMS – by threefold, data transfer – by 44 times. Reduced rates for the communications services increased incoming and outcoming calls, SMSs and Internet-traffic.
Then Denis Gavrilov pointed out that FAS has experience of investigating antimonopoly cases with foreign colleagues outside EAEU. For example, FAS held consultations with Norway competition authority and several Norwegian companies to obtain information on the facts of collusion on the market of the Norwegian salmon import. As a result of the investigation, the FAS Commission found that 6 companies concluded an anticompetitive agreement. The fines imposed in the case reached around 3.5 million EUR. Similarly FAS had consultations with Vietnam competition body investigating collusion on the market of supplies of Vietnamese pangasius.
Finally, Denis Gavrilov said that currently there are even more incentives for cooperation between competition authorities, which can be based, particularly, on exchanging the best practices of exposing antimonopoly violations of the international nature.
As examples, Denis Gavrilov mentioned an investigation against “Google”: FAS made a decision in September 2015 года, and in April 2016 the European Commission opened a case against the company upon similar signs. In December 2015 FAS completed another investigation and that found the largest international companies operating on the market of marine container shipping violated the law by exercising anticompetitive concerted actions. The results of this investigation can be useful for the colleagues from foreign competition authorities, first of all, in the states where similar shipping is carried out by the companies that FAS recognized as the violators.