Industry fined

Ukraine’s competition watchdog has fined cigarette manufacturers and a distributor UAH6.5 billion ($263.4 million) for anti-competitive behavior, reports Interfax Ukraine.

The Anti-Monopoly Committee said the country’s leading tobacco companies and their common distributor, TEDIS, had conspired to keep new businesses from entering the market.

“Violators have established such conditions for concluding contracts with potential distributors other than TEDIS, and it was simply impossible for them to appear on this market,” the committee said.

The tobacco companies involved are Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International, Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco.