FAS inspects "trading houses" at FPS of Russia
On the initiative of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (FAS Russia) has inspected, at the federal and regional levels, the breach of the antimonopoly law by the enterprises selling food products and basic consumer goods to prisoners and detainees. The information was given in the Prosecutor General’s official letter of reply to the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, received on 2 July.
The inspection has been organised following the High Commissioner’s request which emphasised that "the market providing prisoners and detainees with food products and basic consumer goods is, in fact, monopolised", and the said goods are sold at unreasonably high prices.
As a result of the inspections, some infringement of the competition law in the part of selling the goods at higher prices has been found in the activity of the Niva Agricultural Enterprise, Federal State Unitary Enterprise (FGUP "Agricultural Enterprise ‘Niva’") in Perm Territory; as well as some breaches upon the transferal and use of some correctional facilities’ premises have been revealed.
Eleven directors of the Perm Territory Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service received remedial action orders, while twelve cases of administrative offence were opened against the Niva enterprise and its director.
The Federal Antimonopoly Service directorates in Irkutsk and Kaluga regions are conducting relevant inspections of the enterprises FGUP "Sibirskoe" and FGUP "Kaluzhskoe".
In addition, the problem raised in the High Commissioner’s request "will be taken into account by the prosecutor’s office upon inspecting the penitentiary system bodies," the official letter of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia says.
For reference: High Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia Ella Pamfilova appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia in view of the multiple complaints from prisoners about the increase in the price for food products and basic consumer goods in the shops of the Federal Penitentiary Service’s facilities.
