On 1 March 2020, the Russian President signed the bill setting forth the legal framework for the internal systems of antimonopoly compliance (the "Compliance Amendments"). The Compliance Amendments will come into force on 12 March 2020.

The Compliance Amendments set forth the right of Russian companies to introduce the system of internal antimonopoly compliance. The introduction of such a system shall be documented via an internal act or several acts having the following main purposes: compliance with antimonopoly law and prevention of its violation (the "Compliance Act").

The Compliance Act shall include:

  • requirements to assess the risks of violation of the antimonopoly law in the company;
  • measures targeted to minimize the risks of violation of the antimonopoly law;
  • measures of internal control over the antimonopoly compliance;
  • procedure for acknowledgement with the Compliance Act by the employees; and
  • information on a person responsible for antimonopoly compliance within the company.

The Compliance Act may contain additional requirements to the organization of the system of the internal antimonopoly compliance.

These Compliance Amendments recognizes applicability of the Compliance Act within the group which is quite new to Russian law and is not clear in practice. This generally means that the company may apply the Compliance Act adopted by other company of the group.

The company is entitled to file the Compliance Act with Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) for prior approval. This mechanism allows minimizing risks of violation of the antimonopoly law and imposition of the respective administrative fines if the Compliance Act is approved by FAS and the company follows it in practice.

Under the Compliance Amendments the company shall publish the information on the adoption of the Compliance Act on its website in the Russian language.

We will be happy to assist you in drafting the Compliance Act (from both – antimonopoly and employment perspectives) as well as in working out the system of internal control over the compliance of your employees.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.