The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) fined the enterprises of Naftogaz Group UAH 1.745 billion for abuse of monopoly position.

Decisions on fines were made and published on the committee’s website on December 28, 2023, without indicating the names of the companies. In the texts of the decisions published later, the names of the companies were also not made public, but the case numbers were indicated.

In case No. 128-26.13/4-22, two fines were issued for UAH 721.894 million each and another for UAH 340,000. This is a case started by the committee on January 12, 2021 about the presence of different pricing approaches of Naftogaz Trading LLC when concluding wholesale contracts for the resale of gas to the population in the spring of 2021.

“Recognize the actions of the group “information with limited access”, which consisted in the application of various essential conditions in individual contracts to the framework purchase and sale agreement of information with limited access in the period from March 19, 2021 to September 30, 2021 as a violation, provided for in Part 1 of Article 13 and Paragraph 2 of Article 50 of the law of Ukraine on protection of economic competition, in the form of abuse of a monopoly position in the market of information with limited access, which led to the infringement of the interests of other business entities, and which would have been impossible in the conditions of the existence of significant competition in the market," says the AMCU decision.

In addition, in case No. 143-26.13/64-19, initiated by the committee on April 25, 2019, fines of UAH 50.87 million and UAH 249.752 million were issued. This case is about the purchase by JSC Ukrtransgaz from Naftogaz Ukrainy in 2017-2018 of natural gas for balancing services at higher prices than Naftogaz sold to industrial and wholesale buyers.

Fines must be paid within two months from the date of receipt of the decisions. During the same period, they can be appealed in court.