FAS Suspects MTS of Price Colluding

Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service took criminal action against the telecommunications providers MTS and Vympelcom, accusing the two companies of a price collusion related to their sales of iPhones.

Now Apple reports that its wholesale prices have not changed, nor has the company offered any advice on the price of smartphones in Russia or controlled the pricing policy of either Vympelcom or MTS. Nevertheless, most points of sale offered these mobile phones at identical prices everywhere.

The FAS believes this stems from the fact that the two importers secretly agreed on giving up competition and employing the same selling terms.