NOVOSIBIRSK REGIONAL OFFICE OF THE FAS RUSSIA REVEALED A CARTEL AGREEMENT FOR 280 MILLION RUBLES

Purchases of medical devices at 301 auctions in a number of Russian regions were held in violation of antimonopoly legislation

Novosibirsk RO of the FAS Russia  recognized Unilab LLC, Adamant LLC, TD Adamant LLC, Europa LLC, Bashmedsoyuz LLC, Stil LLC and Simelab LLC as cartel participants. 301 auctions for the supply of medical devices in a number of regions of the Russian Federation, including the Kamchatka territory, the Republic of Buryatia, the Sakhalin region, and the Tyumen region, were held in violation of antimonopoly laws.

At the auction, the cartel members acted in each other's interests giving the appearance of competition. The lack of real competition made it impossible for fair bidders to win the auction. The total illegal income of the cartel was more than 280 million rubles.

The fine for each participant can be up to 50% of the maximum starting price of the contract.

The materials of the Antimonopoly case were sent to the law enforcement agencies of the Novosibirsk region to make a decision on initiating a criminal case.

Natalia Kamneva Deputy Head of the Novosibirsk RO of the FAS Russia noted:

“Joint actions of the defendants to participate in the auction are possible only as a result of the implementation of the agreement reached, and the Antimonopoly authority was able to prove it.”

"I have to stress that the pandemic has spurred some companies to sell in violation of the law and colluding on the price increase. The trend in progress to reduce collusion, which we recorded in 2019, has waned. The number of cases in the pharmaceutical sector increased in the first half of 2020, and we are even more actively monitoring the markets, including auctions, for collusion, and continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, because violations of antimonopoly law often entail criminal liability," Andrey Tenishev, Head of the Anti - Cartel Department of the FAS Russia said.