"NATSARBITR" IS SUSPECTED OF IGNORING COMPETITION RULES

Antimonopoly officers found a violation of the law "On Protection of Competition" in the activities of the "National Organization of Arbitration Managers" ("National Arbitrazh"). According to the FAS, the association illegally coordinates economic activities, violating the provisions of the regulatory act (part 5 of Article 11). The reason for this is the standards adopted by the association.

The above-mentioned rules assume that it is impossible to involve specialists who do not have accreditation in the "National Arbitr" (SRO) to participate in insolvency cases. In practice, this may lead to the fact that arbitration managers (AU) who are members of the SRO cannot conclude contracts with such experts. However, such restrictions are not provided for by the bankruptcy legislation.

Now the FAS will have to prove the composition of the offense in court. If the identified signs of illegal coordination of economic activity are confirmed, the association faces the imposition of an administrative fine. Its amount can range from 1 to 5 million rubles.

In December 2022, Rusbankrot covered similar claims that the FAS had against the SRO AU "Creation". The press service of the department then reported that if the offense is confirmed, the organization can receive a fine in the amount of 100 thousand rubles. This is provided for in part 2 of Article 14.32 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

In February of this year, the antimonopoly authorities initiated a similar case against the Association of AU from Novosibirsk. The organization, in which more than 250 specialists are registered, was accused of applying disciplinary measures against its members. It is not reported whether the "Siberian Center for Crisis Management Experts", which has existed for more than two decades, was eventually punished.

Some experts believe that the claims of the FAS to the associations of arbitration managers are unfair. The relevant law provides for the development of professional rules and standards by the SRO. That is, regulatory mechanisms can complement legislation.