Seminar on fighting cartels held in Minsk

The cartel conspiracies and their consequences for the budget and consumers, as well as the effective law enforcement practice are discussed at MART seminar with international experts. This is the first practical step of the signed memoranda with Poland on cooperation between the antimonopoly authorities. 

Cartel conspiracy is an informal agreement between companies in one industry to sell their goods or buy raw materials and services at a certain price. Such an informal agreement is illegal in the legislation of many countries. They also call it a covert crime. And its consequences are the jump in the value of goods and their deficit in the market. The Belarusians are still newcomers to these issues. Legislation has been adopted, and enforcement experience is now important. It was discussed at a seminar at the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade with the support of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Experts note that cartel conspiracies cost an average of 2 percent of GDP, if not more, to the economy.

Poland is ready to share its experience in investigating cartel crimes. The areas most affected by them are construction, cement and food industry. 

In total, MART has considered 324 appeals of business entities on violation of antimonopoly legislation for 9 months. 16 facts have been confirmed. A lot of work still goes on. And this is where international practices are important.