Russia Finds Apple Guilty of iPhone Price Fixing
Russia's antitrust watchdog, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), found Apple guilty on Tuesday of iPhone price fixing in the country. The FAS said that Apple's Russian subsidiary forced 16 retailers to fix their pricing on iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 models, according to the Financial Times, which earlier reported on the ruling. The report even stated that Apple would contact retailers if it discovered inappropriate pricing. The investigation was originally announced in August.
Total Retail's Take: This isn't the first scandal involving Apple and price fixing. In 2015, Apple was found guilty of fixing prices on e-books as part of a larger arrangement with certain book publishers. While Apple maintains its innocence in that case, it still cost a pretty penny. The case settled for $450 million in 2016. Apple also maintains innocence in the Russian case, stating its Russian subsidiary "worked closely" with the FAS during the investigation. If Apple doesn't respond in the next three months, it could face a fine of up to 15 percent of Russian sales.
