On June 1, the Supreme Court ruled that the imposition by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) sanctions in the form of Hr 460 million fine to Imperial Tobacco Ukraine and Imperial Tobacco Production Ukraine for alleged violation of antimonopoly legislation was groundless, the company’s website has reported on June 2.
“Our company has always acted completely transparently and decently, advocating fair and honest competition, observing all antimonopoly laws not only in Ukrainian legislation, but also the principles of protecting economic competition laid down in EU legislation,” CEO of Imperial Tobacco Ukraine Rastislav Cernak is quoted in the press release as saying.
According to the materials of the court ruling, Imperial Tobacco had nothing to do with the events on the Ukrainian market for the distribution of tobacco products, as a result of which only one distributor remained on the market.
Cernak said that this court ruling is “an encouraging sign for all foreign investors in Ukraine”.
As reported, the Antimonopoly Committee in October 2019 imposed a fine of Hr 6.5 billion for anti-competitive concerted actions on cigarette manufacturers and distributors: Hr 3.4 billion on Tedis Ukraine, Hr 370 million on Philip Morris Sales and Distribution, H r810 million on Philip Morris Ukraine, Hr 430 million on PJSC JT International Ukraine, Hr 490 million on PJSC JT International Company Ukraine, Hr 170 million on Imperial Tobacco Production Ukraine, Hr 290 million on Imperial Tobacco Ukraine, Hr 80 million on British American Tobacco Sales and Marketing Ukraine LLC, Hr 450 million on PJSC A/T B.A.T. – Pryluky Tobacco Company, and also ordered these companies to stop violations.
Imperial Tobacco Ukraine is part of the Imperial Brands holding (Britain), its tobacco factory is located in Kyiv.
The company’s brands are Davidoff, Parker & Simpson, West, Style, R1 and Pryma. About 50% of manufactured products are exported to the markets of 20 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, and the United States.
