A leniency procedure has been in place in Ukraine for over two decades. However, until recently, there was no public record of its successful application by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC).
One key reason for such unpopularity was that, until the end of 2023, only the first-comer could receive full immunity, while subsequent applicants received no benefits. Some other provisions under the old regime further complicated the process, discouraging its use.
In 2024, a new leniency procedure came into effect, introducing significant improvements. It not only continued to offer full immunity to the first-comer but also allowed reductions in fines for subsequent applicants who provided valuable evidence. Specifically, the second applicant could receive a reduction of up to 50%, the third up to 30%, and any subsequent applicants up to 20%. Other enhancements were also introduced to make the procedure more accessible and predictable for applicants.
On 12 December 2024, the AMC reported the first grant of leniency under the new procedure. The case involved bid-rigging, and full immunity was granted to the tender participant who first reported the violation and satisfied certain other conditions (such as, provision of critical evidence and cooperation with the AMC throughout the process).
This example shows that the procedure is workable and can encourage companies to report violations to the AMC.
By Igor Svechkar and Oleksandr Voznyuk, Partners, and Pavlo Verbolyuk and Sergiy Glushchenko, Counsels, Asters
