In Kuban region, the organization was penalized with a sum of 19.1 million rubles for involvement in a cartel.
In a recent development, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia has found LLC “Kuban’GruzServis” and LLC “SpetsTransAvto” guilty of colluding in tenders for the provision of services for the transportation of organized children's groups in Krasnodar.
The companies were found to have breached Russian competition law by coordinating their bids and dividing contracts, a practice commonly known as a cartel arrangement. As a result, both companies were imposed an administrative fine totalling 24,398,240 rubles.
LLC “Kuban’GruzServis” initially challenged the FAS decision in the Arbitration Court of Krasnodar Krai, but their appeal was dismissed. The company then took their case to the Fifteenth Arbitration Appeal Court, hoping for a different outcome. However, their appeal was also left without satisfaction, thus upholding the FAS ruling and the imposed fine.
The collusion was first discovered by the Krasnodar UFAF (Unified Federal Antitrust Supervision Service), who launched an investigation into procurement auctions for cargo and transport services in Krasnodar. The FAS used typical evidence such as communications, bid patterns, and identical offers to substantiate their findings.
This case serves as a reminder of the importance of fair competition in the market and the consequences of breaching Russia's competition laws. Both LLC “Kuban’GruzServis” and LLC “SpetsTransAvto” will have to pay the imposed fines, ensuring that the victims of their anticompetitive conduct are compensated.
The collusion between LLC “Kuban’GruzServis” and LLC “SpetsTransAvto” in the transportation industry has led to significant penalties in the field of business and finance. In addition to the administrative fine, both companies must now compensate the victims of their anticompetitive conduct, which highlights the importance of fair competition in industries such as transportation, business, and finance.
