On 26 April 2024, the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) issued a warning to OZON, a leading e-commerce platform in Russia, for engaging in practices that allegedly violate the country's antimonopology laws.
The FAS's concerns include the imposition of the 'Points for discounts' service on sellers, ambiguous contract termination conditions, restrictions on displaying seller contact information, and unjustified refusal to conclude contracts with potential sellers, which potentially contravene the Law on Protection of Competition. OZON has been mandated to amend its offer and cease practices incompatible with antimonopoly law provisions. Failure to comply will lead to the initiation of a formal antimonopoly case.
On March 28, 2024, the Russian Government's decree on abolishing the moratorium on antimonopoly inspections of IT companies came into force. In addition, the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service earlier established the collective dominant position of Wildberries and Ozon - together they occupy about 80% of the market.
Source: FAS
