The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine made a high-profile decision two months ago and fined the largest pharmaceutical distributors Optima-Pharm and BaDM a total of UAH 4.8 billion for cartel collusion. The decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine states that the companies coordinated prices for certain medicines for a long time, which could lead to artificially high prices for consumers.
The official fine has not yet been paid into the state budget. Representatives of Optima-Pharm and BaDM in public statements refer to the difficult economic situation "during war" and declare their intention to appeal the decision or seek other legal protection mechanisms. The companies also emphasized their readiness to negotiate with the regulator and the authorities within the framework of the law.
Instead, some media sources and market participants claim that the companies not only intend not to pay the fine, but are also allegedly seeking “administrative support” from officials to resolve the issue. According to these reports, a request for mediation was allegedly on the table, and in some unofficial conversations, a possible offer of an illegal nature was mentioned. These allegations are currently not confirmed by official documents or court rulings, and therefore should be considered as unverified statements by sources.
At the same time, the market has noticed the emergence of a new active participant - the company "Venta LTD". According to some reports, this asset was previously under the management of ARMA, but in recent months there has been information about the return of rights to part of the assets to the previous owners. In this regard, market representatives express concern that "Venta LTD" may try to take advantage of the situation and take the vacated share, but the details of the transfer of control require verification in state registers and with the asset managers themselves.
The legal implications for the budget and the availability of medicines are worrying: if the fine is not collected, it means significant losses for the state treasury, and for consumers - the risk of further price manipulation in the critically important medicines market in times of war.
Representatives of the AMCU and relevant regulatory authorities have the opportunity to confirm or deny the facts regarding the implementation of the decision and possible appeal procedures; court registers, which record company lawsuits and court rulings, are also important sources. In the event of allegations of undue influence or corruption, such reports are subject to verification by law enforcement agencies.
