Competition agency fines four tobacco giants with factories in Ukraine, Tedis Ukraine distributor UAH 6.5 bln
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has fined cigarette manufacturers and distributors UAH 6.5 billion for anti-competitive actions, according to a posting on the website of the committee.
The decision was made in the case of violation of the law on the protection of economic competition by four largest Ukrainian manufacturers of tobacco products: Philip Morris Sales and Distribution, together with Philip Morris Ukraine, JT International Ukraine and JT International Company Ukraine, Imperial Tobacco Production Ukraine together with Imperial Tobacco Ukraine, British American Tobacco Sales and Marketing Ukraine together with Tobacco Company B.A.T.-Pryluky and distributor TEDIS Ukraine.
The Antimonopoly Committee said that the evidence gathered in the case confirmed that the behavior of these companies was consistent, and the result of cooperation with the sole and common distributor for all cigarette manufacturers on the primary cigarette market was the creation and maintenance of artificial barriers that prevented other business entities from entering the market.
"In practice, violators have established such conditions for concluding contracts with potential distributors other than TEDIS, and it was simply impossible for them to appear on this market," the committee said.