Investigators to assess role of former, current antitrust agency officials in Megapolis tobacco distributor's scheme
The role of former and current top managers of Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee is to be assessed during the investigation into tax evasion schemes used by Megapolis Ukraine LLC (now TEDIS Ukraine), Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said.
"To my opinion, along with legal responsibility for violation of sanctions, withdrawal of capital, possible financing of terrorists' organizations the assessment of actions of former and current top managers of the Antimonopoly Committee, which created this monopoly (the previous managers) and did not destroy this monopoly (current managers)," he said at a briefing in Kyiv last week.
Lutsenko said that in 2012, cigarette producers had to sell their products at retail chain via Megapolis LLC.
"Since 2012, monopoly Megapolis Ukraine appeared in our country instead of the competitive market," he said.
He said that during raids law enforcers seized photos of owners of the company hugging ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
"After the Revolution [of Dignity] some Ukrainian firms involved in retail trade tell cigarette producers: we want to trade with cigarettes in own supermarkets, while producers send them to Megapolis or TEDIS Ukraine. This does not meet antimonopoly or competitive legislation," Lutsenko said.
He said that owners of retail chains asked the Antimonopoly Committee to provide for competitive environment in the area, while they received only formal responses.
"Once the Antimonopoly Committee made a decision declaring Megapolis is a monopolist on the market. The case was not forwarded," Lutsenko said.
He said that the committee imposed fines on the monopolist, but no steps were made to remove monopoly from the market.
Lutsenko also said that there is no information that the owner of Megapolis Igor Kesayev entered Ukraine after the Revolution of Dignity. He spoke to managers remotely. According to Lutsenko, top managers of TEDIS Ukraine are staying in Ukraine.