Gazprom Neft hit with antitrust verdict

MOSCOW, July 10 (UPI) -- Russian market regulators found Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of energy giant Gazprom, violated antitrust laws by abusing its dominant market position.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Federal Antimonopoly Service to conduct a probe in 2008 in an effort to find explanations for continued increases in jet-fuel prices and passenger fares.

The FAS in September hit Gazprom and LUKoil, Russia's largest oil company, with collective fines totaling more than $730,000 for setting identical prices for domestic fuel from April to mid-June 2008.

In the latest findings, the FAS announced Gazprom Neft was declared guilty of violating laws pertaining to market competition and for "abusing its dominant position on the market."

Gazprom Neft had withheld products from the open market in an effort to influence prices, which the FAS said discriminated against petrochemical dealers, RIA Novosti reports.

The company was hit with a $37 million fine in November on similar charges, but that case was overturned in an arbitration court.

Elena Ilyukhina, the deputy chief of Gazprom Neft, said her company would appeal the latest decision.

"The decision by the FAS showed once again a lack of transparent rules that could be clear to all market players," she said.