On Monday, Jan. 31, a Moscow court rejected Booking.com’s appeal against a 1.3 billion ruble fine ($17 million at the current exchange rate) in relation with alleged violation of the antimonopoly legislation.
While expressing its “disappointment” with the ruling, Booking.com said it intends to pay the fine. The company does not rule out “further legal action.”
As reported by TASS, the legal matter began back in 2019 as a Russian business association, Opora Russia, filed a complaint against Booking.com over its pricing policy. The international platform forbids hotels to establish its prices lower than those available on Booking.com, even when the platform is not involved at all in the relationship with the client.
The Russian antimonopoly authority (FAS) imposed the fine in August 2021, considering that Booking.com abused its dominant position.
Over the past few years, Russian courts have been actively fining international online giants — including Facebook, Google, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The motives, sometimes controversial, ranged from failure to remove unlawful content, to election interference, to personal data storage outside the country, to violations of Russia’s antimonopoly legislation.
This story also appeared in bne Intellinews, a syndication partner of East-West Digital News.
