The Competition Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has launched an investigation into the cartels operated by United Group in the country.
Capital reports that the request to initiate the procedure was submitted earlier this year on whether the United Group and dependent legal entities violated the law when concluding restrictive cartel agreements on the exclusive distribution of CNN and Newsmax, to the detriment of users and competition.
It adds that the investigation could result in multi-million dollar fines, as well as significant other legal sanctions and consequences for the United Group and its affiliates.
The disputed undeclared and unapproved agreement between Adria News (Luxembourg) and Turner Broadcasting System Europe (UK) was signed in 2013, and it is based on the exclusivity of CNN broadcasting in BiH and the region.
The Competition Council will also examine the existence of a violation of competition by the concluding of another restrictive agreement between United Media (Luxembourg) and Newsmax Media (US) from 2020. This agreement resulted in the launch of the news channel Newsmax Adria.
The Competition Council is expected to file criminal charges on the basis of the submitted documents. According to BiH law, creating a monopoly on the market by concluding an agreement is also a criminal offence.
Capital notes that United Group’s competitor Telekom Srbija has also submitted documents against the responsible persons in the companies Direct Media Komunikacije, Nova BH and Telemach BH. Srpskacafe
