In what is apparently the first court case in this respect, the
Moscow Commercial (Arbitrazh) Court ordered the
disqualification of the CEO of a Russian legal entity for violation
of Russian antitrust laws. This is a sign of the Russian antitrust
authority's fight against bid rigging, now in practice
inflicting personal liability on the individuals involved.
In a tender relating to office equipment, OOO TIRION and OOO
Company FILAKS had agreed to rig the bidding to maintain prices.
The companies' actions were in violation of Russian antitrust
laws and both of the companies were fined.
In addition, taking into account the seriousness of the violation,
a claim was filed by the antitrust authorities at the Moscow
Commercial (Arbitrazh) Court seeking an order to
disqualify the General Director (CEO) of OOO Company FILAKS from
serving as CEO. The court upheld the claim and disqualified the
General Director of OOO Company FILAKS for a period of one
year.
"The fight against cartels is one of the priorities of the
antimonopoly service. The decision of the Moscow Commercial
(Arbitrazh) Court on the disqualification of a company officer for
participation in cartel collusion is a precedent in the field of
fighting against cartels and other anti-competitive
agreements." commented the Deputy Head of the UFAS of
Moscow Region, Alexey Azarenko.
In recent years there were several cases of disqualification of
state officials, but disqualification of a CEO of a legal entity is
a precedent and a clear signal that the risk of individual
liability has shifted from theoretical to real.
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