Russian motorists no longer over a barrel after oil giants are fined

27.05.2010 (12:59)

Russia’s top petrol companies have been forced to cut their prices after the Higher Arbitrage court ruled in favour of the anti-monopoly services yesterday.

The quartet – Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil and TNK-BP – control more than 70 per cent of the Russian market and were found guilty of using that position to artificially inflate prices.

A combined $1 billion fine will be levied on the four, and anti-monopoly chief Igor Artemyev told Kommersant that they would be barred from passing on the costs to their customers.

www.mn.ru