Russian antitrust to resume hearings of Apple case on Dec 8

MOSCOW, Nov 7 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service has postponed until December 8 hearings of a case against Apple for alleged coordination of iPhone prices, a spokesperson for the authority said Monday.

“Consideration of the case regarding Apple Rus, Apple Holding B.V., Apple Sales Ireland, Apple Operations International and Apple Inc. has been put off because of the need to collect additional documents and proof,” the spokesperson said.

It has been a second delay since September 13, the first date to study the case.

In August, the service opened a case against the companies over signs of price coordination for iPhone 6S and 6S Plus on the local market.

The antitrust investigation proved that the bulk of local resellers had set the same prices for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus from the start of sales and held them for some time. The service also saw equal prices of other Apple’s smartphones, including the new flagship iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

If found guilty, the U.S. company can face a fine from 1 million to 5 million rubles.

(63.5043 rubles – U.S. $1)

End