ANTIMONOPOLY REGULATORS OF RUSSIA AND AFRICA ARE AIMED AT JOINT FIGHT AGAINST CROSS-BORDER CARTELS

This was stated by the Head of FAS Russia Maxim Shaskolsky at a session of the authority within the framework of the Second Summit, the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in St. Petersburg

The key topic of the session was the issue of combating anti-competitive practices of transnational corporations, whose influence is increasing against the background of globalization. The meeting was attended by the Head of Competition and Consumer Protection Policy Branch at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Teresa Moreira, representatives of competition authorities of South Africa, Egypt, the Republic of Chad, Tunisia and The Gambia, as well as the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre.

The participants of the discussion came to the conclusion that the factors of increasing the effectiveness of investigations of cases involving transnational corporations are the improvement of national legislation and its adaptations to new conditions, as well as the expansion of international cooperation.

Head of FAS Russia shared the results of the activities of the Russian competition authority and told about the signing by the President of the Russian Federation of the "fifth antimonopoly package", which will enter into force on September 1, 2023. This is a law on improving the antimonopoly regulation of digital markets, aimed at curbing abuse of a dominant position by the owners of large digital platforms. It is important to note that both FAS Russia and the antimonopoly authorities of African countries, as part of their activities, strive to combine state control and the use of "soft" law mechanisms.

In order to effectively curb cross-border anti-competitive practices, it is also necessary to expand international cooperation. Interaction with foreign partners allows the exchange of experience and practices, access to missing information available in other jurisdictions, and see the global nature of the offense.

For example, at the moment, competition authorities around the world are monitoring the merger of Bunge and Viterra grain traders and assessing potential negative consequences for competition in the event of its commission.

A separate issue is the fight against cross-border cartels.

For their effective suppression, it is important to use appropriate methods. One of the key tools is a liability mitigation program for cartel participants who cooperate with the antimonopoly authority during the investigation by providing information and assistance in collecting evidence.

In the case of collusion at auctions, FAS Russia uses digital methods to identify them and shares this experience with foreign colleagues, for example, with the competition authorities of Brazil. Both sides use special software and screening programs – AIS "Antikartel" in Russia and "Cerebro" in Brazil.

Also, the key influence is the conclusion of cooperation agreements with antimonopoly regulators of other countries, which allow the use of various mechanisms of interaction enshrined in these documents, including an exchange of practices and information on the merits of the case, decisions, holding joint training events, as well as the possibility of sending a request for information, including confidential. In this case, FAS Russia actively applies the mechanism of the waiver – the refusal of the parties from confidentiality.

Cooperation of competition authorities in combating cross-border anti-competitive practices is also developing within the framework of the activities of the UNCTAD.

At the end of his speech, Maxim Shaskolsky noted the need to strengthen cooperation between the competition authorities of Russia and African countries. He stressed that their accumulated experience, as well as a set of skills, will make it possible to increase the effectiveness of combating cross-border anti-competitive practices, especially cross-border cartels.