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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 22:05

Estonian Supreme Court accepts vodka cartel case

BC, Tallinn, 29.03.2016.Print version
Estonian Supreme Court on March 28th accepted the appeal of Public Prosecutor Laura Feldmanis against a decision made by the Tallinn circuit court in January according to which participants in the alleged alcohol cartel agreement got rid of the case because according to the second-tier court the accused were falsely prosecuted and by now the alleged offenses have expired, informs LETA.

After the decision was announced in January, Feldmanis told BNS that it boils down to whether the Harju county court prosecuted the defendants in a correct manner or not. "As a prosecutor I accept today's judicial decision, but I still find that during prosecution the county court did not substantially breach the criminal procedural law. I intend to appeal today's verdict in the Supreme Court," Feldmanis told BNS.

 

The Estonian vodka maker AS Liviko and several major retail sellers accused of a cartel agreement between participants in the alcohol supply chain of Estonia in 2009 got out of the case on Wednesday by the decision of the Tallinn circuit court because according to the second-tier court the accused were falsely prosecuted and by now the alleged offenses have expired.

 

The circuit court found that the decision made by the Harju county court on Apr. 29, 2015 has to be annuled because of a major breach of criminal procedural law and the criminal proceeding has to be stopped as a result of the limitation period expiring.

 

The county court on June 11, 2014 prosecuted all the defendants before receiving defense documents as well as before the Aug. 11 deadline for all the defendants to get a chance to improve the defense documents. By doing that the county court significantly breached the criminal procedural law, as a result of which the decision was annulled.

 

The Harju county court on Apr. 29, 2015 punished the vodka maker AS Liviko with a fine of 1,276,000 euros of which 127,600 euros must be paid immediately and the rest is conditional punishment with one-year probation. AS Prisma Peremarket, a leading retail chain, was fined 1,156,000 euros on similar terms, with 115,600 euros to be paid immediately.

 

Fines on similar terms, meaning that the rest of the fine will expire if no new offense is committed during one year, were meted out to the retail chains Rimi Eesti Food AS, for whom the size of the fine is 3,584,000 euros of which 358,400 euros must be paid immediately, to Maxima Eesti OU, 1,907,000 euros of which 190,700 euros must be paid immediately, and Selver AS, 2,956,000 euros of which 295,600 euros must be paid immediately.

 

Likewise, private individuals Kart-Ragnar Kits and Ivar Grossev were fined 29,400 euros and 16,485 euros respectively, of which one-tenth must be paid immediately and the rest is conditional with a one-year period of probation.

 

Fines on similar terms were meted out to Rando Galin, who was fined 10,206 euros, Hallar Rank, who was fined 9,540 euros, Tiiu Valk, who was fined 27,135 euros, Vaido Padumae, who was fined 11,100 euros, and Marko Krusberg, who was fined 2,655 euros.

 

In the trial that started on Oct. 27, 2014 all the indicted parties – AS Liviko, AS Selver, AS Rimi Eesti Food, OU Maxima Eesti, Prisma Peremarket and AS Helter-R, as well as 11 physical persons linked to the companies – pleaded not guilty.

 

According to the charge sheet, the concerted action by competing businesses to the detriment of consumer interest was raising the price of vodka of the lower price segment to at least 63.50 kroons (EUR 4.06) for a standard half-liter bottle with 40% alcohol content in 2009.

 

The court set the fine for Liviko at 1.5% of annual sales on the grounds that Liviko's guilt was bigger than that of the other defendants. Since Maxima's guilt was found to be smaller, the rate of fine for Maxima is 0.75% of annual sales. For the rest of the legal persons found guilty the fine equals 1% of their sales in 2009.

 

 






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