Ukrainian oligarch’s DniproAzot plant loses court case on antitrust watchdog’s fine
DniproAzot was fined for stopping chlorine production in 2018 (Photo:azot.com.ua)
Kyiv’s Commercial Court on Oct. 20 refused to cancel a fine of more than UAH 80 million ($2.1 million) imposed on chemical’s plant DniproAzot by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) in late 2021.
The DniproAzot plant is controlled by the Privat Group owned by Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.
According to the AMCU, the company abused its monopoly position on the market in 2017-2019. In particular, it stopped the production of goods and their sale in 2018.
DniproAzot said the increase in gas prices and a lack of working capital were the main reasons for the suspension of production. However, the committee did not find any significant changes in the price of gas, and it was established that there was sufficient working capital on the company’s accounts.
As part of another case, the AMCU is currently investigating the issue of price setting by DniproAzot in the period of 2017-2019.
The AMCU established in December 2021 that DniproAzot had violated legislation on the protection of economic competition and fined it more than UAH 80 million.
DniproAzot is the only producer of liquid chlorine in Ukraine, a reagent used for disinfection of drinking water and wastewater treatment in Ukraine.
In the summer of 2018, the plant suspended its production for a month, citing high gas prices and a lack of working capital, which led to the fact that the water supply stations were left without disinfectant supplies.
The AMCU stated that the technological process of drinking water purification is continuous, therefore a delay in the supply of the reagent could turn into an epidemiological disaster of national scale.
During the investigation, the AMCU established that the real reason for the suspension of the production was the plant leadership’s plans to renew a profitable contract with Ukrnafta, which produced ammonia at the leased facilities of DniproAzot, as well as increasing the price of liquid chlorine.
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