YUKOS and LUKoil cleared by Antimonopoly Ministry

On August 1, 2002 the Russian Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy's department in the Stavropol region of Russia terminated a case against YUKOS and LUKoil, two Russian oil giants, which are the major oil product suppliers in Stavropol. The case was started on a charge of price collusion according to the law on 'Competition and Restrictions on Monopoly Activities on Product Markets'. As Head of the Ministry's Stavropol department Vladimir Rokhmistrov reported to RBC, the ministry failed to prove the oil companies' guilt of synergetic actions aimed at increasing prices on the local oil product market. Rokhmistrov was quoted as saying YUKOS and LUKoil's branches increased prices in the region according to their parent companies' orders from Moscow. The case against YUKOS and LUKoil was transferred to the Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy for the final decision. As it was reported earlier, an increase in gasoline prices grew 23-32 percent, while diesel fuel prices posted an increase of 28 percent on average in May-June, 2002.

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&to=http://www.yukos.com/main.asp' target=_blank>YUKOS

&to=http://www.lukoil.com' target=_blank>LUKoil