FAS urges criminal responsibility for fuel overpricing

Price hikes can endanger Russia's harvesting campaign, but oil companies that are being inspected by the anti-monopoly service do not feel responsible for what is going on, FAS deputy head Pavel Subbotin said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Business-gazeta daily on Tuesday.

Subbotin believes that there are different reasons for this - from a desire to get excess profit to some objective reasons of growing costs.

"It is necessary to take careful steps. We speak about companies that bring money to the budget and provide the country with black oil, diesel fuel and petrol. We will thoroughly study this situation and engage experts and best economists," he said.

Subbotin underlined that criminal responsibility will make monopoly companies responsible for price hikes. The FAS will not institute criminal cases, courts will do this, he said, Kazinform cites Itar-Tass. See www.itar-tass.com for full version.